Raiders set to continue great run
RACING: English and Irish raiders are poised to bolster an incredible spring bonanza to almost $15 million in prizemoney when six internationals tackle the final day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
While betting suggests local stables will decide the $1 million VRC Sprint Classic despite the presence of Aidan O’Brien’s quartet and Godolphin’s Jungle Cat, the Mackinnon Stakes looks likely to fall to the internationals.
With prizemoney earnings of $12.6 million so far after victories in the Melbourne and Caulfield cups, Caulfield Stakes and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes, northern hemisphere-trained horses are already in record territory.
And the figure could balloon further when Charlie Appleby saddles Blair House, Ladbrokes’ $2.10 favourite for the Mackinnon Stakes ahead of Joseph O’Brien’s Irish Derby winner Latrobe ($5).
Appleby believes Blair House, narrowly beaten in the Caulfield Stakes by subsequent Cox Plate runner-up Benbatl, is a deserved favourite.
“We are very confident. I feel they have got us to beat on Saturday,” he said.
Despite the crushing setbacks of a campaign-ending injury to Emotionless and losing quality stayer Hamada, Appleby has swept up two Group 1s – the Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter and Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes with Jungle Cat.
Appleby will retire Jungle Cat after the VRC Sprint.
With the two features to bring down the curtain at Flemington ahead of Sandown next week, the internationals have plundered on an unprecedented scale.