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Andrew Forsman is no stranger to big-race success on Caulfield Cup Day, and he is hoping the 2024 edition of one of Australia’s biggest racedays will deliver more of that winning feeling.
Forsman will saddle Positivity in Saturday's A$5 million Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), while Aegon will contest the A$200,000 Gr.3 Moonga Stakes (1400m). The Cambridge trainer is attempting to win both of those races for the second time.
Mongolian Khan delivered a Kiwi triumph in the 2015 Caulfield Cup for Forsman and his former training partner Murray Baker, while Aegon took out the Moonga Stakes in 2022. Forsman has also had further Caulfield Cup Day success in the Gr.3 Ethereal Stakes (2000m) for three-year-old fillies, which he won with Eleonora in 2016.
Like Mongolian Khan nine years ago, Positivity heads into Saturday's Caulfield Cup as a spring four-year-old. A late-developer who made her debut only 10 months ago, Positivity scored Group Three wins on both sides of the Tasman as an autumn three-year-old, capturing the Sunline Vase (2100m) at Ellerslie and the SA Fillies' Classic (2500m) at Morphettville. The daughter of Almanzor was also runner-up in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m).
Positivity kicked off her spring campaign in Melbourne with a second placing in the Listed Heatherlie Stakes (1700m), then earned a ballot-free ticket into the Caulfield Cup with her second-up victory in the Gr.3 MRC Foundation Cup (2000m) on September 21.
In her only start since then, Positivity finished a close seventh in the Gr.3 Bart Cummings (2500m) at Flemington on October 5.
"I thought she did a good job that day," Forsman said. "The way the race was run didn't particularly suit her, and there was also a fair bit of rain during that afternoon. She's a mare that really needs better footing.
"All things considered, I didn't think it was a bad run at all. I liked the fact that she didn't throw it away. She kept coming and was doing some of her best work at the line."
Forsman has been more than satisfied with Positivity's progress leading into Saturday's race, in which she will carry the minimum weight of 50kg and will jump from gate nine. The TAB rates her a $35 chance.
"She's trained on really well since her Flemington run," Forsman said. "She had a good, strong gallop over ground on the course proper at Flemington on Tuesday morning.
"She's drawn well and gets in at the bottom of the weights. Obviously a few other talented horses have light weights too, and it's worked out that the topweight has only 55kg. But it's always nice to have a decent drop from the weights she's been carrying lately.
"Winona Costin will ride her. She's a good natural lightweight and has helped us a lot with riding trackwork when we've had horses in Melbourne."
Aegon, meanwhile, brings mixed form into his shot at a second Moonga Stakes victory. He resumed with a bold finish for fourth in the Gr.2 PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) on August 17, but then finished last in the Gr.1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) two weeks later.
"That was too bad to be true and we're still scratching our heads about his performance that day," Forsman said. "He pulled up a little bit indifferently, but seemed to be completely right again within a few days.
"We gave him an easy time of it for a few weeks after that race, then started to work him back up again. He's had a jumpout, where he went well. I'm hoping to see him put his best foot forward this week. He won this race a couple of years ago and it suits him well – it's just that level down from Group One weight-for-age company."