Cox Plate the target for Adelaide Adelaide, an unlucky-in-running third in the Prix Niel at Longchamp on Sunday, will be trained for a tilt at the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 25th. Winner of the Grade One Secretariat Stakes at Arlington last month, Aidan O'Brien's son of Galileo will go into quarantine on Thursday week. The three-year-old colt was well supported for the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, losing little in defeat at the hands of impressive winner Eagle Top. Connections of Adelaide believe the firmer ground in Melbourne will be to his liking. James Bester, Australian racing manager for Coolmore, told Sky Sports Radio 1: "He probably should have won that race (Prix Niel), as impressive as the winner Ectot was. "There was some temptation, given that was a major Arc trial and that prior Arc favourite Treve flopped in her trial, to consider the Arc de Triomphe for him. "That said, he's a horse that relishes really fast ground. "In America, when he won his Grade One, it was really firm ground. "It's all systems go for the Cox Plate. He goes into quarantine on the 25th (September) and he comes out of quarantine in Werribee on the morning of the Cox Plate. "The firm ground that he is likely to encounter in Australia will suit him tremendously. As long as he gets through his quarantine OK, he has to have a serious chance in this race. "This horse will thrive under Australian conditions."
