Latest News

By Greg Prichard

South Coast trainer Terry Robinson says to get a horse to a big race with a good chance and actually win the event is difficult enough, but to reach the stage where the same horse can win the same race all over again 12 months later is usually too much to ask.

But Art Cadeau is out to buck that trend and will line up with a genuine shot at winning the $2 million The Kosciuszko over 1200m at Randwick on Saturday.

Art Cadeau is back to defend his Kosciuszko title at Royal Randwick on Saturday. (Pic: Steve Hart)

“It’s fantastic to have another runner in The Kosciuszko and for it to be Art Cadeau again, after he won the race last year, is something a trainer dreams about,” Robinson said.

“We’re very happy with the way his preparation has gone. Tommy Berry, his usual rider, is very happy with him. He’s ridden him in his recent work and a barrier trial and he thinks he’s a little bit stronger than last year, which I think he’ll have to be because this is a really good field this year.

“Everything’s gone to plan and the horse is good. When I had a runner at Randwick last Saturday I took him along for the day out because he can get a bit nervous on the float trip up from Shoalhaven Heads when it’s his first run back.

“He had a day out down at the stalls and he’ll be much better off on race-day because of that. We did the same thing last year and it worked. We found on Kosciuszko day he got off the float nice and relaxed and that’s how we want to see him this Saturday.”

Art Cadeau won the Country Championships Final over 1400m at Randwick in the autumn of 2021 and Robinson then hatched a plan to run him first-up in The Kosciuszko in the spring to keep him fresh over the shorter distance.

It worked a treat as Art Cadeau raced in touch with the leaders and then employed his trademark toughness in the finish to hit the front right on the line. Robinson has gone the same way with him again this spring.

“He’s not a high-speed horse like a lot of the other horses in the race and that’s why we went the way we did last year,” Robinson said.

“He had a good prep in the autumn of this year. He only won one race, but he was stepping up into quality races and he generally raced well in them and that stands a horse in good stead. It makes the horse more seasoned and I think you’ll see a difference in the horse this prep.

“Racing over 1400m is his greatest strength, but he’s proved he can win against good horses over 1200m given the right preparation. We know how tough he is, so if he can be in the first four or five in the run he should be right in the finish.

“He always gives 100 per cent. He’s a lovely horse – it’s great to have him in the stable.”

Berry, who won the Country Championships Final and the Kosciuszko on Art Cadeau, is riding in Melbourne on Saturday. Top Victoran jockey Damian Lane will ride Art Cadeau in The Kosciuszko.

The horse was a $15 chance in TAB Fixed Odds betting on Tuesday.

Racing NSW - your home of live racing, form, tips and the latest news.