Linton is Lloyd’s salvation

Ironicially, owner Lloyd Williams has spent a small fortune trying to buy a Melbourne Cup winner from overseas, yet his best chance of winning the 150^th running of the Melbourne Cup has been on his doorstep all the time.

Williams had 23 horses nominated for the Melbourne Cup – more than half of those imported horses bought at great expense from the likes of Aidan O’Brien and the Aga Khan in Europe.

Williams last week’s lamented that he might have no runners in this year’s big race as he organised his star recruit, the G1 Irish St Leger winner Alandi, to be returned to Ireland to former trainer Jox Oxx because “we can’t get him going.”

Linton earned himself a crack at the Cup with a solid win in today’s Group 2 Herbert Power Handicap (2400m) at Caulfield. It is the grey’s first win beyond 1600 metres and although he’s immature, he’s a raw talent with great scope for improvement.

Williams has decided to miss next week’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), and set Linton on a Melbourne Cup path, but he has warned that the gelding will be stopped in his quest if there is any sign he is not coping with an arduous spring-staying program.

Today’s win was Linton’s only seventh start, and he won like a horse that can only improve with further experience.

Linton has only 51kg in the Cup, but he is liable for a penalty for his Herbert Power win. Last year chief handicapper Greg Carpenter gave Herbert Power winner Alcopop an extra 1.5kg, and if he gives Linton an expected 1kg it will be enough for 4YO to be guaranteed of a run.

At his previous start when third behind Precedence in the Listed JRA Cup (2040m) at Moonee Valley, jockey Michael Rodd said Linton “climbed” in his action throughout the race. “He never really settled, so he did a really good job to run third,” Rodd said.

Being trained for longer trips has taken some of the sprint out of Linton, but the son of Galileo is bred to stay and also Williams and his team still have blinkers to add to sharpen him if necessary.

It could be that the horse might go into the Cup without another run, although Williams has the option of running him in the G2 Moonee Valley Cup (2600m) in a fortnight, or on Derby Day at Flemington in either the G1 Mackinnon Stakes (wfa 2000m) or the Group 3 Lexus (2500m).