Diamond Sparkling Ahead Of Aussie Mission

Brian Ellison hopes to run Carte Diamond in both the Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup and the Emirates Melbourne Cup.

Ellison´s charge finished an excellent runner-up behind Sergeant Cecil in the totesport Ebor and will bid for glory on two fronts in Australia this autumn.

'He´s in great order and if the Ebor was tomorrow he´d win it,' said the North Yorkshire handler.

'He goes into quarantine on September 11, he flies out on September 25, and then he´ll go for the Caulfield Cup [over 12 furlongs] on October 15.

'After that it´s the Melbourne Cup so he´s got a bit on his plate.'

The Malton handler declared himself happy with Carte Diamond´s weight allowance of 8st 6lb ahead of the two-mile Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 1.

However, plans to run the Theatrical colt in the Totesport Gold Trophy at Newbury in February have been shelved until the four-year-old completes his expedition Down Under.

'The weight he´s got is not the end of the world and I think he´s a right price to do well,' added Ellison.

'He´s seven pound better than he was at the Ebor so that´s got to be a positive.

'It´s a long journey and a very demanding race so we´ll have to see about giving him a rest before we think about the Gold Trophy.'

(C) PA Sport