Trainer and jockey quotes following the Group 3 Lexus Archer Stakes won by Kalapour at Flemington on Saturday.
Race Result:
1st: Kalapour (Damien Oliver/Kris Lees) - $4.80
2nd: Athabascan (James McDonald /John O'Shea) - $2.80F
3rd: Gan Teorainn (Jye McNeil/Chris Waller) - $26
Winning Time: 2:38.11 Last 600m: N/A
Margins: Neck x 1½L
Ollieeeee!
— Racing.com (@Racing) November 4, 2023
The retiring champion steers Kalapour to victory in the Archer Stakes & straight into the Melbourne Cup pic.twitter.com/iOVHJG4UmC
Winning Trainer: Kris Lees
Damien Oliver scoring a win on one of Kris' horses: "I'm rapt to have a winner with Damien in what will be his last spring carnival. It certianly means a lot to me.
"WHenever I bring horses down here, if they a chance he'll certainly ride them.
"I've had a great association (with him) and I'm glad he could get a win for us today."
On the horse: "I didn't give Damien any instructions. I said to him, 'what are you going to do' and he thought he'd be box seating but when he jumped so cleanly he was able to dictate in front, I was very confident in the run.
"With a couple of sections of 13.5, I knew he was going to be hard to run down."
Backing up in the Cup: "I think so. Especially with that style of run. It wasn't a tough run. We'll see how he pulls up but I'd expect him to back up."
Top 10 chance: "He drops to 50 kilos, I think he is, he's a horse in form which is what you want to see, I think he'll acquit himself well."
Two runners in Cup: "They've got to do something Tuesday as well but it's great to have two runners for sure."
On Cleveland: "He had a nice gallop this morning, he's in good order. Looking forward to the day."
Winning Jockey: Damien Oliver
"It is great to get one under the belt early. It is great for the confidence.
"This horse has been running really consistently all season and it is great that he can win a nice race today.
"Barrier one was much better than barrier 16 (in Newcastle Cup), I can tell you.
"He jumped well. I wasn't really planning to lead but the more I got closer to the gates I thought it was an option. I didn't want to hand the lead up to United Nations.
"They were going fairly pedestrian up the straight (first time) and I thought 'bugger it, why not lead'.
"I thought United Nations was probably the leader but we were just cantering and I thought that element of surprise is sometimes the biggest ace up your sleeve. I just got there doing it so easy, he was so comfortable, he was so happy in front, breathing good, relaxing well and I'd just had it so easy I let him build from the 700 (metres) and he was able to maintain a good gallop."
"He kicked nicely for me on the bend, he actually changed stride about 100 metres after we straightened and he just lost his action a little bit but then gathered it up nicely and because he'd had it so easy in front he was able to hold them off."
"I'm not sure what the plan is with him but he's had a pretty easy run today if they wanted to go there (Melbourne Cup), the horse is in great condition, he's a really healthy animal and he's just a gentleman of a horse."
"I've been pretty busy, feeling good, not riding too light today which is good when you've got a lot of rides and I'm just really looking forward to the week ahead."
