Melbourne Cup 2008 Blog

Cup glory for super Septimus

Link: RTÉ Sport: Cup glory for super Septimus.

'He (Septimus) is a possible for the Melbourne Cup, along with Yeats and Scorpion. We wanted to get today out of the way before deciding what to do next, but he certainly loved going the trip.'

Japanese cup winners cleared of horse flu

Link: Japanese cup winners cleared of horse flu - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

Australian quarantine officials have cleared last year's Melbourne Cup winner and runner-up of equine influenza but more tests will be carried out before the Japanese horses are allowed to return to Australia.

An outbreak of the virus has shut down horse racing in Japan.

Australia's Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran says while Delta Blues and Pop Rock have both tested negative to equine influenza, other horses at their private farm must also be tested.

The connections of the pair are hoping to bring the horses back to Australia to prepare for this year's race.

Freyer happy with Falcon's first flight - Horse Racing - Sport - theage.com.au

Link: Freyer happy with Falcon's first flight - Horse Racing - Sport - theage.com.au.

THE longest 12 months in the 60 years of a most patient man, Corowa trainer Richard Freyer, ended satisfactorily yesterday when the horse originally favoured to win the first Melbourne Cup of the post-Makybe Diva period ran 12th in a 16-horse sprint at Caulfield.

Freyer, rugged up in three-quarter coat and cloth cap, kept a lid on his feelings as he analysed the first run of Leica Falcon since November 2005 — and the first major test since stem-cell surgery in August last year had prevented the stayer starting in the 2006 cup.

In the mounting yard after the Commissionaires Handicap, Freyer gave an unhurried response to his star galloper's run.

"I'm happy," he said of the horse he has nursed since veterinarian Jim Vasey told him six weeks after the operation not to tell the then five-year-old's owners that the hole in the tendon had gone, for fear they would want to put him back into work too soon.

"I said, 'Oh god Jim, I've got to tell them. They need some hope and a bit of good news'." Freyer said.

Margaret Eaton and husband Alan bred Leica Falcon and are the key owners. They showed the patience Freyer knew they had, and it was only in April that the gelding went back into work. Just "poking around", mind you.

He has had "days out" at racetracks in the Murray region, and even one to Caulfield last month, but yesterday was the first test. He had not even had a barrier trial.

Freyer said Leica Falcon could fly again, although it might take a couple more runs, beginning with a 1700-metre race at Caulfield in two weeks, before he was a winning chance. "I don't think we could have expected any more," he said of the 1200-metre opener. "If it was a maiden plate at Albury today I don't believe he could have won."

Can the stayer still be what he promised when he burst on to the scene when fourth in the 2005 Melbourne Cup? "I think he can, I'm quite sure he can," Freyer said, explaining that the six-year-old should have no mental problems because he had not been in pain from his injury.

Pre-race, Freyer said he wanted the Falcon "just to catch a few stragglers". He did that, and his final 200 metres were the third fastest in the race, enough for bookmaker Michael Eskander to keep him safe at $26 for the cup.

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Fiumicino - needs beat 'history' as well

Link: Racing and Sports - Leaders in Horse Racing News, Statistics and Technology.

Fiumicino faces no easy task despite his short odds early in the betting. The last AJC Derby winner to take the Melbourne Cup in the same year was Peter Pan - in 1932.

Godolphin's Scriptwriter and Kerrin McEvoy

Link: International Horse Breeding and Racing news updated daily, www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz.

Scriptwriter benefited from an excellent Kerrin McEvoy ride to lift the Detica Summer Handicap (2800m) for Godolphin at Glorious Goodwood, England, on Tuesday.

The five-year-old, a 7/1 chance who shouldered 10st to victory, came with a superbly timed run to take up the running just over a furlong from home before quickening well to score by two and a half lengths from Samurai Way.

Winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor said: “The ground and the distance made a big difference to him today. He was also much more relaxed.

“Scriptwriter has improved with every race and could go further I think.

“We will see how the horse is before we make any plans. He is entered in two of the Shergar Cup races at Ascot and also the Ebor at York.

“When I spoke to Kerrin afterwards, he said that this horse could go for the Melbourne Cup. He has speed and also stays well. I hope he stays sound.”

Canadian horse - Arlington - ears the right to start in 2007 Cup

Link: Arlington win hands Canadian Cup berth | Herald Sun.

CANADIAN Jambalaya guaranteed himself a start in the Melbourne Cup with his triumph in the Arlington Million in Chicago yesterday.

The Arlington Million (2000m) is one of nine races, including five overseas, where the winner is exempt from the Cup ballot.

Jambalaya, trained by Catherine Day Phillips, powered home to defeat The Tin Man, winner of the race last year.

The five-year-old tracked The Tin Man before surging clear to win by three-quarters of a length.

Eskander's Betstar reacted to Jambalaya's win by cutting his Cup odds from $67 to $34.

ENGLISH stayer Strategic Mount remained in Melbourne Cup contention with a victory at Ascot yesterday.

Strategic Mount, ridden by Frankie Dettori, won the Shergar Cup Challenge (2400m) by a head after coming from the rear of the nine-horse field.

Trainer Paul Cole will now start Strategic Mount, a winner of four of his 12 starts, in the Ebor Handicap (2797m) at York on August 22.

Ladbrokes shortened Strategic Mount from $26 to $13 for the Ebor, a race that will feature a host of Cup prospects.

The Luca Cumani-trained Purple Moon is the $5 favourite, with Godolphin's Scriptwriter $8 and Samurai Way, a stablemate of Purple Moon, at $13 along with the Aidan O'Brien-trained Hitchcock.

Cole made the trip to Melbourne in 1998 with Yorkshire, who finished fifth behind Jezabeel.

Godolphin's Formal Decree, a nomination for all three spring features, ran a 1 3/4-length second in the Group 3 Rose Of Lancaster Stakes (2120m) yesterday at Haydock Park.

Cup favouritism a heavy burden | The Daily Telegraph

Link: Cup favouritism a heavy burden | The Daily Telegraph.

AS if trying to overcome the Phar Lap curse isn't enough for Fiumicino and Efficient.

Even more burdensome - if that is possible - is the "favourites" tag each must shoulder over the next two months into the Caulfield-Melbourne Cups.

With more than 250 entries received last week for both Cups, bookies have framed their first markets on the big races with Fiumicino early Caulfield Cup favourite and Efficient at the top of Melbourne Cup betting.

Nick Moraitis, popular owner of Fiumicino, experienced every racing enthusiast's dream when his champion Might And Power won the coveted Cups double in 1997, but he doesn't like to talk up his chances of more triumphs this spring.

"I've been involved in racing for a long time and I've learned to take nothing for granted," Moraitis said of Fiumicino's Cups prospects. "I never look too far ahead or get my hopes up because it can lead to disappointment. So many things can go wrong in this game."

Perhaps Moraitis was also aware of the poor record of "August favourites" in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. Since Might And Power's dual triumphs, only 1999 Caulfield Cup winner Sky Heights and 2004 Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva were race favourites at the start of spring.

Over the last decade, some of the early Cups favourites either didn't make it to the post or proved spectacular flops. Remember the likes of Kaapstad Way, Mutafaweeq, Wild Iris, Plastered, Headturner?

If this doesn't dent the confidence of punters wanting to back Fiumicino and Efficient, what about the Phar Lap curse?

Fiumicino and Efficient have earned their lofty ratings in Cups betting through their impressive classic wins last season - Fiumicino ran away with the AJC Australian Derby and Efficient was dominant in the Victoria Derby.

But the last horse to take either Derby and then return as a four-year-old to win the Melbourne Cup was the legendary Phar Lap in 1930.

Efficient's owner, Lloyd Williams, is a great student of racing and he knows just how difficult it will be for his stayer to win the Melbourne Cup.

"He will have to be four to six lengths better than he was a year ago," Williams said of Efficient.

TAB's Glenn Munsie acknowledged the poor record of early favourites in the Cups but doesn't expect that will stop punters wanting to back either Fiumicino or Efficient to win the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

"They are Derby winners, lightly raced, look like true stayers, and should be given a weight that ensures they are in the race," Munsie said.

"Punters will know that unless either horse suffers an injury or terrible form lapse, there's a pretty good chance these two will start in the Cups, so they are going to get a run for their money."

Fiumicino begins his Cups preparation with a barrier trial at Warwick Farm today. He is due to resume racing in the Group Two $200,000 Warwick Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on August 25.

Efficient was an original entry for the Aurie's Star Handicap at Moonee Valley tomorrow but owner Lloyd Williams has decided to wait until next week's Group Two $200,000 J.J. Liston Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.

Form guru Mark Morrissey has been framing Cups markets for almost 20 years and says that punters love the challenge of trying to find the Cup winner three months before the race is even run.

"It's become a great Aussie tradition," Morrissey said of early Cups betting. "When you think about it, there's a bit of an art to betting on the Cups in August.

"Not only do punters have to identify the right horse, they have to take the odds that horse will qualify for the race.

"Trying to back horses in August for a race in November is not easy but that is part of the mystique of it all.

"Really, there is nothing like Cups betting. We do get a lot of interest from punters on races like the Golden Slipper and Doncaster Handicap when we first put those markets up for autumn but those holds are nothing compared with what we bet on the Cups."

The record of Cups favourites over the last decade does make for sobering reading.

Back in 1997, punters wanted Marble Halls and Yippyio for the Cups. Might And Power, who won both races, was at $15 in early betting.

Marble Halls was immature and had stamina limitations, struggled to cope with the grind of a Cups preparation and was well beaten in both races.

Yippyio contracted travel sickness on the way to Melbourne and almost died. He did not race again for nearly a year.

Tie The Knot was all the rage for the 1998 spring carnival but was luckless in both Cups.

The Caulfield Cup that year was won by English stayer Taufan's Melody. He started at $81 but as much as $251 was bet about the veteran gelding back in August.

Similarly, bookies first offered $201 about Jezabeel for the Melbourne Cup.

The 2000 Cup winners were also early outsiders. Diatribe was listed originally at $41 for the Caulfield Cup and Brew at $201 for the Melbourne Cup.

In 2002 champion Northerly won the Caulfield Cup while bookies let Dermot Weld's unknown stayer Media Puzzle under their guard that year, betting as much as $151 when Melbourne Cup markets were first framed.

Even the great Makybe Diva was rated only a $51 chance before she won the first of her three Melbourne Cups in 2003.

But the Phar Lap curse and the poor record of favourites won't deter punters. It never has. So, who is your early pick for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups?

Xcellent's race schedule

Link: Racing and Sports - Leaders in Horse Racing News, Statistics and Technology.

Moroney has dismissed a recent fitness scare with Xcellent as a concern and has him ticking over towards the start of his spring campaign in New Zealand.

Xcellent is set to will begin his Melbourne Cup campaign at Hastings in the G1 Mudgway Partsworld Stakes (1400m), a race he won two years ago.

X

Xcellent, who had his first start in 18 months when 18th in the Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm in June, is programmed to run Stoney Bridge Stakes (1600m) and the $NZ2 million Kelt Capital Stakes (2040m) at Hastings before heading to Melbourne.

Xcellent gave the Moroney stable a scare two weeks ago when he strained a shoulder ligament that was described by the trainer as "a nuisance".

Xcellent, unbeaten in six starts in New Zealand including four at GI level, is a likely runner in the $3 million W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley as part of his lead-up to the Melbourne Cup.

Moroney's other spring hopefuls include Skiddaw Peak, Sarrera, Jokers Wild and Lady Atire, who was sent from New Zealand to his Melbourne stable last week.

Efficient, Zipping and Gallic prepare for Cup

Link: Cup challengers get another week off - Horse Racing - Sport - theage.com.au.

MELBOURNE Cup-bound stablemates Efficient and Zipping will bypass Saturday's Aurie's Star Handicap at Moonee Valley and instead kick off their spring campaigns in the Liston Stakes at Caulfield a week later.

The pair's owner, Lloyd Williams, said he was pleased with how the two horses galloped at Moonee Valley yesterday morning, but said it was obvious they needed another week before they were ready to start their run at November's $5 million Melbourne Cup.

"They won't be going to the races this week. They both need another week and they can gallop at Flemington on the course proper next Tuesday to have them ready," Williams said.

Efficient, the Melbourne Cup favourite and last year's Victoria Derby winner, and Zipping, who ran fourth in the Cup last year, worked over 1000 metres yesterday, sprinting home the final 600 metres. Efficient shares the top line of early Melbourne Cup betting at $13, while Zipping is on the third line at $17.

Williams said both horses were "going nicely" but the chance to work the pair at the reconstructed Flemington course proper next Tuesday meant he would not take them to Moonee Valley this Saturday. The owner explained that both horses were likely to take similar paths to the Cup through weight-for-age races.

Williams said his only other likely Cup candidate Gallic is also working well towards a return to racing. Gallic, now an eight-year-old, won last season's Adelaide and Sydney Cups and will begin his campaign at the re-opening of the Flemington track on September 8.

Bart's Best for a 12th Melbourne Cup

Link: Cummings star in Aurie's Star | Herald Sun.

Bart Cummings nominated Queensland Derby winner Empires Choice and placegetter Sirmione, Prince Arthur and Accumulate as his best prospects for a 12th Melbourne Cup.