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Crack European stayer Torcedor remains firmly on course for the $8 million Melbourne Cup after ending a long lay-off with a fading fifth in Germany.
While the even-money favourite failed to match market expectations, beaten 10 lengths by Godolphin’s Magical Touch over 2800m at Hoppegarten, Australian Bloodstock’s Jamie Lovett was far from crestfallen.
“We were thrilled with the run last night. It’s been a while in the making, obviously, because it’s been nearly a year since he raced,” Lovett said on Sunday.
“He was probably 70 per cent fitness-wise. He was competitive until the last 400m and then he blew out and Eddie (jockey Eduardo Pedroza) looked after him.
“He came through the run well and he had a big blow afterwards. It was a proper-run race and going forward we got the result we wanted.
“He came out of the race good — just so great to get him back to the races.”
Trained by Andreas Wohler, the mastermind behind Protectionist’s 2014 Melbourne Cup success, Torcedor last year pushed champion stayer Stradivarius to a half-length in the Goodwood Cup.
Australian Bloodstock bought the horse soon after, but plans to contest last year’s Melbourne Cup were scuttled when Torcedor succumbed to illness and couldn’t enter quarantine to travel to Australia.
