THE PETLEY REPORT: PRESSURE IS BUILDING ON THE CUP ENTRIES AS THE BIG DAY STARTS TO CLOSE IN

By Jack Petley | Tuesday, October 27, 2020

There will be a great deal of interest for Kiwis in this year's Melbourne Cup with six NZ bred horses already safely into the field at the 24 horse cut off point. They are the outstanding Zeb mare Verry Elleegant, Oceanex, who gained her start with that Ramsden win, Surprise Baby, Sydney Cup winner Etah James, Miami Bound, the Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner, and The Chosen One, who finished third in the Caulfield Cup.

Keep this in mind when the NZ bred mare Miami Bound tackles the Melbourne Cup. "She is a much better horse when she gets out to a distance, mile and a half and further, and she grows another leg on soft tracks." The daughter of Reliable Man stormed to a fine win in the weekend's Moonee Valley Gold Cup and she has, said trainer Danny O'Brien yesterday, "pulled up well and she now goes to the Cup." Miami Bound was taken by O'Brien out of the Westbury Stud draft for $120,000 and she collected $300,000 on the weekend.

The mare is an Oaks winner and O'Brien is mindful that it has been difficult for an Oaks winner to take a Melbourne Cup. I have mentioned before that few VRC Oaks winners have gone on to win a Melbourne Cup. Light Fingers, that wonderfully bred mare trained by JB Cummings, was the last back in 1965 and the last horse to complete the Moonee Valley Cup-Melbourne Cup double, was Kingston Rule in 1990, so the Danny O'Brien Reliable Man mare does have the record book against her. The mare has not been re-handicapped for that Moonee Valley Cup win and it has been announced that Daniel Moor will do the riding.

O'Brien will have a strong attack on the Cup with his other runners being Russian Camelot, a fine third in the WS Cox Plate, King of Leogrance, and the winner of the Cup last year, Vow and Declare. Damien Oliver, I see had the choice between Russian Camelot and Vow and Declare and has taken the ride on Russian Camelot, who I thought ran ever so gamely in the Cox after being ridden up earlier. In the Cup he will have ever so much time to get into rhythm.

And while on the O'Brien team, Danny's Derby hope Young Werther is still on track for the Derby this weekend. He was withdrawn from the Vase at the Valley last weekend because of the track conditions. The NZ bred has opened up favourite at $4 in spite of his missing that lead up run. The Vase winner, Cherry Tortoni is now a solid second favourite behind Young Werther at $5.50 with Patrick Payne saying the three-year-old came through his tough win in fine order.

Oceanex, also NZ bred, by Ocean Park, also came through the Moonee Valley Cup third well and Mick Price says she has recovered from that hard race well and the Cup distance "will suit."

And, of course, Glen Boss has made certain of his Cup ride, the brilliant Cox Plate winner, Sir Dragonet, who doesn't get a penalty for that decisive win. A win for Boss would take his Melbourne Cup victories to four alongside Bobbie Lewis and Harry White.

And in another riding engagement for the Melbourne Cup, top WA rider William Pike has been booked for the Team Freedman stayer Steel Prince, the narrow winner of the Geelong Cup. Pike had earlier been booked for Schabau, but a Cup run is unlikely I am told. Steel Prince is currently at $23 for the Cup.

When the next set of acceptances were taken for the Cup yesterday 45 horses have been left in the field with the Bendigo Cup this week and the Hotham Handicap on Wednesday the last time a horse down the list can force a way into the field with a win and a penalty.

Verry Elleegant heads the list ahead of Sir Dragonet, brilliant winner of the WS Cox Plate and with Glen Boss confident he has the stayer to give him his fourth Melbourne Cup. "By the time he got back to be unsaddled he would not have blown a match out," said Boss on the weekend.

Team Hawkes are hopeful of getting NZ bred Zebrowski into the field. He sits at 25th at present and is in the Bendigo Cup and is also entered for the Hotham.

An International in the Bendigo event who needs a win … Pondus for Joseph O'Brien.

But while most of the top stayers are on track for the Melbourne Cup, it has not been so lucky the Victoria Racing Club. There will be no fans at the track this year. The Victoria Racing Club meantime said every effort would be made to make off track initiatives outstanding for the fans at home, including a new state of the art interactive Cup week website.

Meantime, in Sydney, it is likely that some 6000 fans will be on hand for the Golden Eagle day with the main race, of course the $7.5m Golden Eagle which is certain to attract a high-class field. Looking at the latest markets … the Chris Waller mare Funstar is the favourite at $4.50 with Tommy Berry taking the mount. Next is the star Brisbane galloper Alligator Blood, at $5 , then $9 Superstorm, $11 Flit, Riodini, Windstorm , $15 Bottega, Brandenburg, Dawn Passage, Emeralds, Sierra Sue and Subpoenaed. There is every likelihood of a soft track for the meeting and Funstar has soft track form hence the early solid betting on the in-form mare.

James Cummings will field a strong trio, Flit, Colette and the promising Criaderas.

The Busuttin-Young yard will send their smart mare Sierra Sue north for a crack at the $7.5m Golden Eagle on the weekend. Busuttin said the daughter of Darci Brahma had the potential to win at Gr1 level and so he wished to give her the chance in the rich event in Sydney. And if she did win it would be a wonderful week for her owners as many in the mare are also in the ownership of the Caulfield Cup winner, Sir Dragonet. Busuttin said he has booked the in-form Nash Rawiller for the mount and with the mare at $15 in the market. Funstar is currently the favourite for the Golden Eagle ahead of Alligator Blood.

Meantime not wonderful news for the Aidan O'Brien camp. That good stayer Wichita has been euthanised after he, yet again, injured the hind leg which had undergone surgery after he fractured the leg in training at Werribee last month.

In NZ the Pittman trained filly Miss Tycoon Rose threw her hat into the 2000 Guineas with a crushing win in maiden class at Riccarton on the weekend. That had followed on a solid fifth in the Canterbury Belle Stakes. The daughter of Written Tycoon won her maiden by an ever increasing five and a half lengths and Michael Pittman said that put the seal on her tackling the Guineas."

But Miss Tycoon Rose has not always been in the good books with the highly successful Michael Pittman. He paid $40,000 at a sale at Karaka and admitted that after he had worked her at speed and trialled her he tried to get rid of her. "In her trial she did nothing, so I dropped her off at Berkley Stud. When she came back after her break she was a different horse, and she just keeps improving.”

There was one winner at Trentham on the weekend who deserved special mention, that wonderfully gifted rider, Lisa Allpress. She underwent a full replacement procedure on a right hip back in August which over the years has caused her much pain. Allpress gained a medical clearance last Friday and had five rides at the meeting including a winning ride on Crowning Star for the Benner-Wynyard stable. "The hip has come through it well, but my arms are feeling it,” said Allpress. “Just to ride without pain and even driving to and from a race meeting without it is good."

Allpress did admit to one sadness, not seeing her great mate and rival Rosie Myers at the track. Rosie is recovering from major surgery after a bad fall. "I've been in the jockey's room with Rosie for her entire career so it was very sad and quiet there on Sunday," said Allpress.

The Benner-Wynyard stable also produced a very promising winner in Hold the Press, by Press Statement. The three-year-old was formerly with Terri Rae at Riccarton. Benner said he held the three-year-old in high regard after that dashing win over 1200 metres in 1.10.37 on a dead track.

Jamie Richards is eagerly awaiting the return of his Epsom Handicap winning mare Probabeel as she returns to NZ after being in Australia since March. "I am pleased she is coming home," said Richards. Probabeel ran gamely but found the track against her in the WS Cox Plate and Richards said she "is tired." He said she will spell and all going to plan will be back in Australia in the autumn.

The Te Akau team won with Palamos at the Te Rapa meeting on the weekend and he is now being aimed at the Karaka Million at Ellerslie in January. "He can go to the paddock for a couple of weeks now," said Richards of the smart youngster. Palamos is raced by Hong Kong businessman Edmund Wong, making his first venture into NZ with the private purchase of Bagalollies, the dam of Werther, Gobstopper, Milsean and Toffee Tongue. "This is the first horse we have had with Mr Wong," said Richards. "He rang me one day out of the blue and asked if I would buy him a horse. I had trouble deciding between three and so he took all three. I then brought Palamos and he also has a full brother to Werther."

Classique Legend will be trained in Hong Kong by Caspar Fownes. with the dashing Everest winner due to leave Oz shores in November.

In Japan the odds-on favourite Contrail became the eight three-year-old to complete the Japanese Triple Crown, but only the third to do so undefeated after he took the Kikuka Sho narrowly at Kyoto on the weekend. He went into the event a hot favourite after wins in the Satsuki and the Yokyo Yushun, but he had to work ever so hard to hold out the roughie Aristoteles. He has now been placed at 8-1 alongside Love for the 2021 Arc in France. The victory means Contrail joins his sire Deep Impact and Symboli Rudolf as the only undefeated horses to win the Triple Crown.

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