After days of speculation surrounding the fitness of Caulfield Cup hopeful Bonneval, senior stewards late on Thursday passed the Kiwi mare fit to tackle Saturday's $3.1 million handicap.
Stewards made two examinations of Bonneval on Thursday, with the second clearing the mare to take her place in the field. She will not be examined again by stewards before the Caulfield Cup.
Chief steward Terry Bailey said Bonneval could go into the cup after a report from his head vet said the multiple group 1-winning mare was "one-out-of-five" lame on Wednesday, which would have prevented her running, but the reading was clear on Thursday.
"We had two vets check Bonneval on Thursday afternoon and she has been cleared to run," Bailey said.
"She was trotted up at Flemington where she is staying and our vets also inspected scans of her suspensory ligaments that had been provided by [trainer] Murray Baker's stable vet."
The mare has drifted from $5.50 to $9 since being beaten into sixth in the group 1 Caulfield Stakes and subsequently being reported to be lame and suffering a laceration on her off-hind pastern last Saturday .
"Apparently she was as good as gold [in the scans] and there were no abnormalities," Baker said.
"I am a little bit surprised as to all the attention ... if she was sore we wouldn't persevere with her.
"When you pull a horse straight out of the box and it's been standing there for seven hours, obviously it's stiff, for a start. That's why they have warm-ups."
On Thursday rider Kerrin McEvoy, who won the Caulfield Cup in 2008 on All The Good, believed the mare was "perfect in her work since last Saturday".
"I've been happy with her, I had a canter on her yesterday [Wednesday] and she felt fine and then this morning just did some nice striding work over seven furlongs on the dirt and she seems free as a bell in my opinion," McEvoy said.
"And happy coming off the track, she is bouncing and full of herself and seems really bright. I would be surprised if she is not right to take her spot on Saturday.
"I haven't been asked for my opinion. I'm not a vet, I'm a jockey. but the way she feels is fine. She is happy.
"I said to Murray, and he agreed, that it is always important to have one or two sits on them going into a big race, and I've watched a fair bit of her, spoken to Hughie [Bowman] about her, it is always good to have a first-hand feel and become acquainted.
"I haven't sat down and had a good look yet [at the form]. I was quite taken by Johannes Vermeer the other day, he was quite stylish hitting the line.
"Of the locals, you have to respect Humidor and Amelie's Star and Harlem. It is a good, even field and it is great to be on this mare who has got a great record at a mile-and-a-half and she has won around Caulfield. Myself and Murray might have to do a rain dance now this afternoon."
