Newcastle trainer Kris Lees eyes first double act in Melbourne Cup

Kalapour, which sits 28^th of 29 acceptors, can secure a start in Tuesday's $8.4 million race with victory in the group 3 Archer Stakes (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday.

Lees has Cleveland in the race that stops a nation after his win in the $750,000 Moonee Valley Gold Cup last Friday night confirmed his potential. Kalapour will join him with a victory in the Archer, which offers the winner a place in the Cup.

The seven-year-old gelding was a $5.50 TAB chance for the race, which has attracted just seven starters, and he has the advantage of gate one and champion jockey Damien Oliver in the saddle. Lees was pleased with the scenario but wary of favourite Athabascan.

"It's come up nicely but the favourite will be very hard to beat," Lees said.

"He was a bit luckless in the Moonee Valley Cup, so you've got to respect him. But I'm pretty happy with the horse. I think he will run really well. Barrier one, seven horses, you'd like to think he will get his chance."

Regardless of the result, Kalapour was an outside chance with potential withdrawals to make the 24-horse Cup field on Saturday, but Lees said he still needed to show he was up to the task to take that chance.

Kalapour was third in the St Leger Stakes (2600m) at Randwick behind runner-up Cleveland last start but beat him home when third in the group 1 Metropolitan (2400m). He was also ahead of Cleveland when seventh in the Newcastle Cup (2300m), where both had wide gates.

The Irish import has won just three times in 14 starts for Lees but found form in the autumn in Queensland, winning twice and placing three times in five runs. He has hit the line well this preparation without winning again and Lees has been happy with the runs.

"He hasn't won a great deal over the last six months but he's raced really consistently, and you can probably draw a line that there hasn't been much between him and Cleveland in all their tussles, so I get a bit of confidence out of that," he said.

Kalapour carries the colours of New Zealand owner Lib Petagna, who had great success with Lees-trained three-time group 1 winner Lucia Valentina. Oliver rode Lucia Valentina to Lees' biggest win, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2016.

Lees' most recent runner in the Cup was Mustajeer, which finished down the track in 2020 and 2019. He also had Lucia Valentina finish 13th in 2014 and County Tyrone come 12th in 2003.

Cleveland and Kalapour passed vet inspections on Thursday. Cleveland will have his main work-out before the Cup at Flemington on Saturday morning.

"He's good. I'm really happy with him," he said. "He's very fit, he's been racing every two weeks, and now he's on a relatively quick turnaround, so we haven't needed to do much."

Lees also has Willinga Beast at Flemington for the group 3 sprint (1100m), while rank outsider Razeta contests the $10 million Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill.

"Willinga Beast probably wants a little further than 1100, so we've put winkers on her and hopefully that will keep her that little bit more focused," he said.

"It's a tough little race but it probably hasn't come up as hard as we were expecting, so she could easily win a race."

As for Razeta, he said: "To be fair, we're just hoping she could earn a good cheque, so who knows."

Greg Prichard reports: Lees is under no illusion as to the enormity of the challenge his mare Razeta faces in the $10 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill on Saturday, but he believes that if luck goes her way she can run a good race and pick up a decent chunk of prizemoney.

Razeta is the extreme outsider at $151 with TAB Fixed Odds to win the Golden Eagle, but as Lees pointed out there is the race within the race to consider as well as the race itself.

"We know what we're up against, it's a big jump in grade for her, but the prizemoney is incredible and it pays right down through the field," Lees said.

"It's still six figures at $100,000 when you get down to ninth, so it makes sense for her to go to this race.

"She's a dual stakes-race winner at 1400 metres and she's actually raced well this preparation. It wasn't a good day for her two starts back in the Tibbie Stakes, when she was out the back, but she bounced back with a really good run in the Silver Eagle to set herself up for this race."

The Golden Eagle includes a charity element which sees charities nominated by the connections of each of the 20 horses receive 10 per cent of the prizemoney.

The prizemoney pays down to 18th place and doesn't drop into single figures until 10th place.

Razeta came from last of 14 horses on the home turn to finish eighth in the Silver Eagle over 1300 metres at Randwick on October 14.

She flew home over the last 200 metres, so the 1500 metres of the Golden Eagle should really suit her.

"She recorded terrific late sectionals in that race," Lees said. "It was a really good effort once she got going in the straight. She's gone as fast as anything else in the race over the last 200."

The problem for Razeta and jockey Dylan Gibbons is the face she has drawn barrier 15 in a race that has been reduced to 19 starters following the scratching of Attrition.

The star apprentice says he'll have to be ride conservatively early on in a bid to avoid over-taxing Razeta in the run.

"If she'd drawn a decent gate I'd be a bit more confident," Gibbons said. "She doesn't step the best from the barrier, so hopefully we can work across underneath them, get behind something in the three-deep line and still be ahead of a few settling down.

"She can't be sitting wide and trying to circle the field, it'd just make things too hard for her. We'll have to go back, ride for luck and see if we can make up ground in the straight and beat as many home as we can."

Lees said the forecast for rain in Sydney on Saturday was welcome for his horse.

"The more it rains the better chance she becomes," he said. "She's just got to have luck in running so she can do something.

"She's shown she's ready for 1500, so the distance won't be an issue. She'll appreciate the fast tempo the race is bound to have, so there's a few little things that will help us. She'll be ridden to finish off well, so hopefully she can do that."

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