Spring Season Racing Odds: Cox Plate For Happy Trails
August 20th, 2014 by Pom de TurfLast year’s Cox Plate was a difficult one for Happy Trails and especially for trainer Paul Beshara, who was suspended for the race that saw Happy Trails narrowly edged out by Shamus Award, and who will feel like there’s some real unfinished business in this year’s race. As you’d expect, Happy Trails is amongst the Racing odds for the Cox Plate at this early stage, and he’s been back in action this week after a long layoff.
It was some forty weeks between that heartbreaking Cox Plate run and last Saturday’s Spring Stakes in Adelaide, but Happy Trails look pretty good, and came home in fifth in his comeback race. Beshara was realistic about his expectations for the comeback run when he spoke to the press before the race: ‘I got my licence back in May and for the first month all he was doing was slow, long work and then we started getting into him about June and July and he’s come up well. He’s missed a bit of work because of the wet weather down here, but he had six months off, so it’s done him the world of good. He’s not a 1200-metre horse although he won the race two years ago, but that was on younger legs. I’m not saying he’s going to win, but I’d like to see him finish in the first three and more than anything I just want to see him hit the line.’
Sounds to us like the focus is very much on the Cox Plate that Beshara feels might have been won by Happy Trails last year, and which he’ll certainly have a say in in 2104. Remember when you look over the Racing odds for this year’s Cox Plate that it was Fiorente that Happy Trails overhauled and beat into third in last year’s race, and consider his excellent credentials for the Cox Plate – this is a horse that shouldn’t be ignored…
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