Le Juge continues rise, Brisbane Cup looms

The Brisbane Cup is suddenly on the radar for Le Juge after he continued his meteoric rise to Group Three success in the Chairman’s Handicap at Doomben.

Le Juge ($6) made it four wins in a row and his sixth from his past seven outings when he stormed to victory in the Chairman’s winning by a half head from Igraine ($10).

In the process, Le Juge foiled a plunge on stablemate Haripour who was backed from $4.20 into $3.30 favouritism but had to settle for third a further head away in a gripping three-way finish.

Trainer Chris Waller said the Group Two Brisbane Cup (2400m) was firmly on the agenda for Le Juge if he maintains his current form.

“We’ll look at it. It was always the plan to be running over these trips with him,” Waller said.

“Once they’re fit and racing with confidence we just try and keep taking those small steps.

“There’s a 2200m race in a couple of weeks time and if he wins that then it’s onto the Brisbane Cup if everything’s going well.”

Jockey Robbie Fradd produced a masterly ride aboard Le Juge, weaving between runners in the straight to hit the lead inside the final 100m before staving off a determined challenge from Igraine.