KEY POINTS:
Auckland trainer Richard Yuill is in no hurry to confirm a rider for Mandela in the Caulfield Cup.
Mandela is one of five New Zealand-trained horses remaining in the Caulfield Cup on October 20 and is booked to cross the Tasman next Tuesday.
This is the same day final acceptances are taken for the Cup and the following day is the deadline for declaration of riders.
And Yuill said it could be that late before a jockey was confirmed as he wanted to consider the options.
"I might wait until then. I'm not rushing into it," he said last night.
Mandela was a close fifth - beaten little more than half a length - to Princess Coup in the $2 million weight-for-age Kelt Capital Stakes at Hastings last Saturday.
Sydney's top jockey Glen Boss was aboard Mandela at Hastings but has switched to Princess Coup for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.
Yuill was not commenting on who might be considered for the ride in the 2400m glamour event.
He said he had not discounted a New Zealand rider but noted Australian jockeys Darren Beadman and Craig Williams had ridden Mandela in Brisbane in the winter and Melbourne last spring.
Williams rode the Ebony Grosve six-year-old gelding to win the group three Geelong Cup in Melbourne before finishing ninth in the Melbourne Cup.
Beadman was aboard Mandela in three Brisbane starts in the winter, including victory in the Chairman's Handicap.
Meanwhile, New Zealand mare Eskimo Queen has been the subject of an Australia-wide betting plunge to win the A$2.5 million ($2.9 million) Cup.
Bookmakers around Australia reported good money for the Mike Moroney-trained mare yesterday and she has tightened from $8 to $7 with most bookmaking firms.
Mark Morrissey, spokesman for Colin Tidy's betchoice.com, said if Eskimo Queen won Saturday week's Cup, bookmakers would face a $1 million payout on yesterday's wagers alone.
"It would take out one million dollars around the joint easily," Morrissey said.
It is believed all the bets were made by a Victorian bookmaker off-loading obligations from an overseas client.
Eskimo Queen was eighth in the Turnbull Stakes last Saturday but the Cup has been her mission all year.
- NZPA/AAP
