Cesarewitch next on East India Dock's agenda East India Dock will bid for one last major Flat prize before his attentions switch back to hurdles, with the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap at Newmarket on October 11 his immediate target. Cesarewitch the final Flat stop for East India Dock James Owen’s dual-purpose star was third in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival before claiming the Chester Cup in May. He was sixth in the Northumberland Plate on his latest Flat outing, a result Owen feels could have been better with a clearer run. “East India Dock has had a small break and is now back in and we’ll aim at the Cesarewitch with him,” said Owen. “He’ll go straight there. I feel we missed a chance in the Northumberland Plate and the ground may have been on the lively side for him at Ascot, but Newcastle was our chance. It was one of his best runs on figures, but annoyingly he didn’t get a great run round, he got caught wide and shuffled to the back of the field. A great big pot on home turf, when hopefully by then they will have had a bit of rain, we think will be ideal and then back over hurdles we will campaign him as a Stayers’ Hurdle horse — I’m sure he will stay well and he gives himself every chance to.” Burdett Road set for Fighting Fifth return While East India Dock’s hurdling campaign is yet to start, Owen already has a plan in place for stablemate Burdett Road. The Champion Hurdle runner-up will begin his season in Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle, with the Champion Hurdle again the ultimate target. “Burdett Road’s having a nice break and we might give him one prep run on the Flat before going for the Fighting Fifth,” said Owen. “He’ll take the Champion Hurdle route again and will be running in all the big two-mile hurdle races en route to Cheltenham. He did very well last year and it will be very tough again, but he’s entitled to be in all those big races and hopefully he can be very competitive in them.”
