Dunaden on course for a repeat Mikel Delzangles was satisfied with what he saw as he paid a flying visit to check on Dunaden's progress ahead of next Tuesday's Emirates Melbourne Cup. It is a measure of how far the young Frenchman has come that a few hours after watching Craig Williams help the defending champion complete his final serious piece of work at the Werribee quarantine centre, he was jetting across to Los Angeles to monitor his two runners at the Breeders' Cup. After Dunaden's pulsating defeat of Red Cadeaux to become the second Gallic runner in a row to lift Australia's most famous race, he beat the same rival again in Hong Kong, ran with credit through the European summer and returned to the Southern Hemisphere to take the Caulfield Cup in impressive fashion. Such rampant progress has not escaped the handicapper's attention and with another kilogram added on from Caulfield, the six-year-old will be carrying more weight than any winner has managed since the metric system started to be used for the race 40 years ago. "I'm happy, the horse looks well. He can't be better," said Delzangles. "I think he's better than last year, but he has to be 4kg better." Williams is being offered the chance of redemption here, having cost himself the chance of his first Cup victory when picking up a suspension for careless riding at Bendigo in the build-up. Christophe Lemaire received the golden spare at Flemington 12 months ago but 35-year-old Williams was called back to ride Dunaden in the King George, where he finished sixth, and committed himself for either the Cup, or the aborted trip to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. "I was delighted with how he worked - the way he felt, the way he extended and the way he recovered afterwards," he said. "He's right on target for Tuesday. " Reflecting on the weight issue, Williams said: "Realistically, he deserved a penalty (for the Caulfield win). I know weight won't stop him. "Mathematicians and historians say it will, but I think the most important thing is luck in running." A number of the European inhabitants of the quarantine centre, which is a few miles south of the city on Werribee racecourse, were being put through serious exercise and the seasoned work-watchers have been waxing lyrical about the condition of the other French returning champion, Americain. Fourth in his defence last year and back with trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre after a rather fruitless time with David Hayes, the striking seven-year-old returned with an encouraging fourth place in the Caulfield Cup. The pair are vying for favouritism among British bookmakers and he is most feared by Williams. "Americain meets Dunaden better at the weights and looks to be the main opposition," he said.
