Don't ignore Daffodil
Cup battle looms as tale of two trainers
By Daniel Franklin at Flemington
Posted November 3, 2009 07:00:00
The 149th Melbourne Cup is looming as a battle between the legend who has dominated the race like no other and a comparative novice catapulted from obscurity into racing's biggest spotlight.
Bart Cummings will saddle up three runners in the $5.5 million Cup, including the favourite and reigning champion Viewed.
He is searching for his 13th Cup and is attempting to become only the third trainer to sweep all three spring majors - the Caulfield and Melbourne cups and the Cox Plate.
But his biggest threats are the South Australian raiders Jake Stephens, Dominic Tourneur and their rising star, Alcopop.
There is a great story behind every Melbourne Cup winner and the meteoric rise for Alcopop and his connections would undoubtedly be it this year.
Alcopop, which has been used to muster cattle and as a polo referee's horse, had his first start on Melbourne Cup day last year, winning a maiden handicap at Morphettville in Adelaide.
He has gone on to win seven of his 10 starts for Stephens, who has only been training for three years, and Tourneur, who has never ridden a race at Flemington.
Cummings and Stephens have attracted most of the media attention in the Cup build-up, but there are connections of 20 other horses all hoping to steal the limelight.
However, one horse in doubt is the David Hayes-trained Changingoftheguard, which is undergoing a vet inspection this morning.
Racing Victoria chief vet Dr O'Callaghan raised concerns with Changingoftheguard's action at a trot yesterday and stewards will decide this morning whether he will start.
Big bets
The weight of public money since the weekend has installed Viewed a $4.75 favourite ahead of Alcopop at $5.50, with another Cummings runner, Roman Emperor, at $8.
But the biggest money at yesterday's Call of the Card came for New Zealand mare Daffodil which attracted bets of more than $20,000 at $17.
The Oaks winner is now as short as $13 in some markets.
The Mark Kavanagh-trained Shocking has also shortened into $10 from $26 following his impressive win in the Lexus Stakes on Saturday, while English galloper Basaltico has more than halved its quote from $51 to $21.
Staying cool
The Flemington carnival began beneath blue skies on Saturday, with a crowd of 108,178 watching Monaco Consul win the Victoria Derby in 33-degree heat.
A cooler and windier day is expected today, with showers clearing this morning and a maximum of around 20 degrees.
Track manager Mick Goodie says Flemington has come through the opening day of the carnival in perfect order.
"The track is the same as it was on Friday afternoon, a Dead 5 with a great cover of grass on it, so I'm very happy with its condition," he said.
Goodie says three millimetres of irrigation was applied to the track overnight, while 1.4 mm of rain was recorded.
He says he expects the track to be upgraded around the time of the first race.
The rail was in the true position on Saturday but has been moved out two metres for the entire circuit for Tuesday's meeting, which features 10 races.
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