British trainers Nicky Henderson and James Owen have set the sights on winning the 2025 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse in November.
The Henderson-trained Palladium is the most expensive horse ever to be sent over jumps and he duly made a winning hurdling at Huntingdon last month.
Lady Bamford’s €1.4 million purchase is on course to run in the Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March, before switching to the flat.
Henderson has described the 2024 German Derby winner as the best flat horse he has ever trained and believes he has the ability to be a superstar this season.
Henderson Bullish About Palladium’s Melbourne Cup Hopes
“Palladium is a colt but he’s got a fantastic temperament and that makes it very, very easy,” Henderson said. “He went away and did a bit of loose schooling to start with and he enjoyed that.
“He’s been terrific all the way through. We’ve definitely not had a flat horse as good as him. He’s a very high-class horse and he’s a beautiful horse. You’d take him anywhere and he’d win a prize.
“I don’t think you’ll see Palladium jumping a fence. I think he’ll be winning a Melbourne Cup. We’re thinking of Royal Ascot and the Melbourne Cup.”
A tilt at the Melbourne Cup would be an ambitious move by Henderson, who is generally associated with training top class National Hunt horses.
However, the 74-year-old has enjoyed some noteworthy successes on the flat, including winners at Royal Ascot in 2009 and 2011.
Sports bettors in Australia will be keeping a close eye on Palladium’s progress this season given that he is currently priced at odds of 51.00 for ‘the race that stops the nation’.
If the horse impresses when he is switched back to the flat, horse racing betting sites could be inundated with wagers on him to win the Melbourne Cup.
Owen Keen to Embark on a Trip to Australia
Newmarket-based trainer James Owen is also eyeing a trip to Australia with classy dual-purpose performer Burdett Road.
The five-year-old will be aimed at the Melbourne Cup after completing his jumps campaign, which could conclude at Cheltenham next month.
Burdett Road has won seven of 22 starts including an impressive wide-margin victory in the Listed Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket last September.
Military Academy finished second on that occasion and he subsequently franked the form by winning the Listed Slate Floodlit Stakes at Kempton in November.
Burdett Road was narrowly beaten by Golden Ace in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton on his most recent outing, but Owen believes the ground conditions did not help his cause.
“He made that error two out,” Owen said. “He’s absolutely fine but the set-up of the race didn’t help.
“It rained in the morning which made the ground very loose. While he can cope with it on the flat, he’s an explosive horse over his hurdles and he never really got into that fluent rhythm.
“He’s got a high cruising speed and we couldn’t really use it. I’m not taking anything away from the filly – she outbattled us in the end. We looked the winner turning in, made a mistake two out which opened the door and we couldn’t close it.
“I’m proud of how he ran – it opens the door, so he’s having an entry in the County Hurdle and we’ll see what the Champion Hurdle picture looks like closer to the time.
“We’re still very keen to go to Cheltenham and we’re still very keen to have a flat campaign with this horse as well, ending up hopefully at the Melbourne Cup, for which he’s got a lovely mark.
“We know he likes fast ground and the track will be perfect. We’ll go to some big places with him and have a lot of fun.”