TIME ON O'BRIEN'S SIDE WITH VOW AND DECLARE

His short-term plans are up in the air but the coronavirus measures haven’t changed the long-term goal of back-to-back Melbourne Cups for Vow And Declare.

Trainer Danny O’Brien has always said a second Melbourne Cup was the sole aim for Vow And Declare, outlining a long-range campaign with the stayer.

That campaign started with an outstanding first-up third in the Group I Australian Cup (2000m) earlier this month and was set to continue in the Group I Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) during The Championships at Randwick.

However, racing faces an uncertain future with the distinct possibility of shutting down as part of a government push to slow the spread of the potentially fatal disease.

But O’Brien isn’t worrying about any likely change of plans for Vow And Declare.

The Victorian trainer knows he has time on his side for now.

“All we can do is feed them and exercise at the moment and we’ll see what happens,” O’Brien said.

“All we can do is react to things if they change. There’s no point getting too dramatic about it.

“His ultimate aim is the Melbourne Cup and that’s a fair way away.

“Nothing is the end of the world for him right now but it would be the end of the world if they called off the Melbourne Cup.”

O’Brien has the luxury of training Vow And Declare either on the track at Flemington or among the sand dunes near his Barwon Heads property, not far from Geelong.

“We’ll work with what we’ve got but we won’t have any trouble training him to be as fit as we need to have him,” O’Brien said.

Vow And Declare is a $19 chance in Sportsbet’s latest 2020 Melbourne Cup market while his stablemate, the Adelaide Cup winner King Of Leogrance is a $26 chance.

The Lloyd Williams-owned King Of Leogrance has had three starts for O’Brien for two wins, including his easy win in the Group II Adelaide Cup (3200m) on March 9.

By Brad Waters for Racenet

Photo by Racing Pics