Cup acceptors have left Artist floating
TRAINING partners Ciaron Maher and David Eustace have a decision to make after Monday’s latest round of Melbourne Cup acceptances.
Maher and Eustace’s charge Floating Artist is 27th in the Melbourne Cup order of entry after his unlucky second in Saturday’s Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m).
Floating Artist is one of 35 hopefuls left in the Melbourne Cup.
The duo have entered the imported stayer for Saturday’s Group 3 Lexus Hotham Stakes (2500m) at Flemington, which offers a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption to the winner.
Maher and Eustace need to decide whether to run Floating Artist in the Hotham Stakes in a bid to secure a Melbourne Cup start or hope natural attrition gets their horse into next Tuesday’s field.
Maher and Eustace already have three Melbourne Cup runners safely in the field for the $8m event.
Grand Promenade is exempt from the ballot after winning the Group 3 Bart Cummings (2500m) this month, while triple derby winner Explosive Jack (sixth) and Persan (15th) are well inside the top 24 Melbourne Cup qualifiers.
Maher and Eustace have withdrawn import Gold Trip from the Melbourne Cup
after his controversial scratching from the Cox Plate on veterinary advice.
The Danny O’Brientrained Young Werther was a notable withdrawal from the Cup on Monday.
An issue arose in Young Werther’s compulsory preMelbourne Cup CT scan.
Vets advised O’Brien to spell Young Werther for up to 10 weeks to heal a slight issue in a sesamoid bone.
Triple Melbourne Cupwinning rider Glen Boss was booked to ride Young Werther in the Melbourne Cup but will now search for another mount.
Miami Bound will be the 2019 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer’s only Melbourne Cup runner after her
fifth in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup.
Meanwhile, seven-time Melbourne Cup-winning owner Lloyd Williams has booked Sydney jockey Rachel King to ride Pondus in the great race.
Jye McNeil rode Pondus into fourth placing in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup but he will stick with last year’s winner Twilight Payment in the Melbourne Cup.
Luke Currie has regained the ride on Persan after Linda Meech rode the gelding into third place behind Incentivise in the Caulfield Cup.
Meech will miss the Melbourne Cup after she was suspended for careless riding at last Saturday’s Cox Plate meeting at The Valley.