Victory in Saturday’s Ballarat Cup will be a good story for whoever is involved, but it will be the perfect end to a memorable career if Sonntag can salute in the $300,000 feature event.
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The seven-year-old is being prepared – at trainer Henry Dwyer’s satellite stable in Miners Rest – for what is likely his final run, with connections set to call retirement win, lose or draw.
Dwyer, who admitted the horse is a favourite of his team, said it would be good for Sonntag to exit racing at the peak of his powers, unlike other horses who retire because of injury or because they are simply too slow.
The son of Teofilo will line up in his second Ballarat Cup this Saturday.
In 2015, Sonntag was run down in the shadows of the post to finish third behind Junoob before being scratched from the race last year when it was discovered the horse had suffered a tendon injury.
That appeared as though it might be the end of racing for the gelding, but in October this year he was back competing.
He produced a nice first-up seventh – beaten less than three lengths – in the Bairnsdale Cup before a disappointing last placing in the Sale Cup.
But his return to form was swift, with a front-running victory in the Ararat Cup his first triumph since May of 2015.
Sonntag will be ridden this Saturday by Jye McNeil and is rated an $11 chance with online bookmakers Sportsbet.
McNeil has partnered the horse for his past two runs.
“It’s a much stronger race than Ararat, obviously, but he did win pretty easily at Ararat and gets in on the minimum (54kg),” Dwyer said of Sonntag’s chances.
“He’ll just run along in the first two again and give a good kick, no doubt.”
Dwyer would dearly love to win what is regarded as a hometown cup, but just hopes the horse gets around safely and tries his best.
“If he can run around and be competitive that would be great and probably a fitting finale,” he said.
Sonntag is the horse that helped put Dwyer on the map, with his success in the 2014 group 1 Queensland Derby coming in the early stages of his training career.
Since then, Dwyer has won one other race at the elite level, with Precious Gem taking out the Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville in 2016.
Sonntag’s victory in the 2014 listed Sale Cup was another highlight in a 30-start journey that has netted more than $600,000 in prizemoney.
All this came after a serious tendon infection that landed him in the Ballarat Veterinary Practice and almost took his life.
Sonntag will be Dwyer’s only runner on Ballarat Cup day.
