Gladatorian And Madison Valley Square Up In King’s Cup

Gladatorian could be a big player in the Champions Season. (Candiese Lenferna Photography). 

Gladatorian and Madison Valley will square up in the Listed King’s Cup over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday in what could be a curtain raiser for a fine champions season for both of them.

With One Stripe departing the country the miler form does not look overly strong and Gladatorian will be a leading player for the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge.

Stuart Ferrie has handled his career superbly and this Gr 2 Post Merchants winner is still unexposed over middle distance trips, which his pedigree suggests he could get.

The furthest he has run is over 1750m, in his last start, and he cruised in.

The Gr 1 World Pool Champions Cup will likely also be on his agenda.

But will he have an audacious tilt at the Hollywoodbets Durban July?

Some said retrospectively he could have won the Betway Summer Cup had he been entered, but that is all conjecture and he instead comes into the Champions Season nice and fresh.

The King’s Cup’s benchmark is MR 113 = 62kg and Gladatorian carries 62 off a 123, meaning he is well in at the weights.

The Frank Robinson-trained Madison Valley carries 62kg off a 117 merit rating, meaning he is officially 3kg under sufferance with Gladatorian.

However, he is the second best in at the weights and some say he could also have won the Summer Cup if he had been better drawn and not had to come from so far back.

He finished a flying 2,35 length fourth and hasn’t run since, because Robinson wants to get him into the July with the minimum weight of 54kg for an older horse.

He comes into the Champions Season nice and fresh too and he would have matured further, so can hopefully use his fine turn of foot to maximum effect.

The next highest rated is Formagear. This Peter Muscutt-trained horse has a lot of class and if it pans out well for him he could be a threat.

The full field is shown below: