Sydney on the cards for international duo

Monday 24 November 2014, 4:16pm

Red Cadeaux and Farraaj, the last remaining international spring carnival contenders, have flown out of Melbourne bound for Hong Kong with a return to Australia on the cards early next year.

Connections of both horses have flagged an interest in The Championships at the Sydney autumn carnival with decisions to be made after their Hong Kong commitments.

Three-time Melbourne Cup runner-up Red Cadeaux will contest the Hong Kong Vase (2400m), a race he won in 2012, while Farraaj will line up in the Hong Kong Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on December 14.

Robin Trevor-Jones who has travelled the world with Red Cadeaux as foreman for trainer Ed Dunlop, said the Sydney trip depended on how the gelding performed in Hong Kong.

"The trainer will make the decision," Trevor-Jones said.

"He could come straight back here after Hong Kong, go back to England and come back for the autumn carnival or go on to Dubai.

"With the Dubai World Cup going back to dirt I know the trainer is keen on coming out for Sydney, but we'll see how he goes in Hong Kong."

Trevor-Jones said Red Cadeaux had come out of his second placing behind Protectionist in the Melbourne Cup this year better than he did 12 months earlier when runner-up to Fiorente.

He pointed to a light summer campaign in Europe preceding the Melbourne Cup for his quick recovery.

Before his departure for Hong Kong on Monday, Red Cadeaux was recognised with the naming of a stable block at the Werribee quarantine centre in his honour.

Joan Banks, the travelling representative for trainer Roger Varian, said Farraaj, an unlucky third in the Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington on November 1, could return for the Sydney carnival and, longer term, a shot at the Cox Plate.

"The boss is already talking about coming back next year and we might even come back in February for Sydney," Banks said.

"This is a new adventure for us having not been here before, but now that we know the drill he (Varian) is looking at bringing more out next year."

Banks said Farraaj was around 9kg above his racing weight but was exactly where she wanted him before a flight to Hong Kong and said being with Red Cadeaux since the departure of the other international gallopers had had a calming influence on the gelding.

She said his stablemate My Ambivalent, who set a fast tempo in the Melbourne Cup before weakening to finish 17th, had returned to the UK and had been retired to stud.

– AAP

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