The Michael Maroney-trained Alenquer will make his first appearance in the Melbourne Cup since arriving to Australia.
It’s always been an option for this lightly-raced European Group 1 winner – but his form since his arrival hasn’t reached the heights of his success in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup (2100m) at Curragh in May 2022. His form has left a lot to be desired, yet to find a minor placing since.
The son of Adlerflug has been making steady improvement this campaign, however, finishing ninth 3.4 lengths away in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m).
There’s no doubt this six-year-old will need to take big improvement to feature in the race that stops the nation; however, with the key booking of Damien Oliver in his last Melbourne Cup ride, he might be considered the sentimental favourite.
When will Alenquer run in the Melbourne Cup?
The Melbourne Cup will be run on the first Tuesday of November at Flemington, with a capacity crowd expected to cheer home their favoured runners.
Theres 24 quality gallopers engaged every year, and the 2023 edition is no different, with Australian and Internationals alike.
All the runners set to line up will be attempting to etch their name into racing folklore, and of course, claim their piece of the $8.41 million in prizemoney on offer.
Alenquer (2)
- Age: 6YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Alderflug (GER)
- Dam: Wild Blossom (GER)
Win: +6600
Place: +1300
Best odds at Dabble
Career stats for Alenquer
- Career: 18: 5-2-1
- Flemington: 0: 0-0-0
- Distance: 0: 0-0-0
- Soft: 6: 1-1-1
- Good: 9: 2-1-0
- Heavy: 2: 1-0-0
- Group 1: 11: 1-1-1
- Win %: 28%
- Place %: 44%
Melbourne Cup results for Alenquer
NEVER RUN IN MELBOURNE CUP PREVIOUSLY
Recent Form for Alenquer
| Date | Race | Track | Distance | Placing | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Odds | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 27 | MV Gold Cup | Moonee Valley | 2500m | 9/14 | Damien Oliver | 12 | 58kg | $26 | 3.4L |
| Oct 14 | Might And Power | Caulfield | 2000m | 5/10 | Mark Zahra | 7 | 59kg | $41 | 6.7L |
| Sep 23 | Underwood Stakes | Caulfield | 1800m | 11/15 | Declan Bates | 9 | 59kg | $151 | 4.6L |
Can Alenquer win the 2023 Melbourne Cup?
Can Damien Oliver claim another Melbourne Cup win on his farewell tour? It looks unlikely that the three-time Melbourne Cup hoop will do it aboard Alenquer, but stranger things have happened. The six-year-old gelding from Mike Moroney’s barn will need a massive form reversal, as he has been comfortably held in his three starts this spring. He had traffic issues at his last start, finishing ninth in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m), when going to the line under a relative hold. He’ll be in the second-half of the Melbourne Cup field upon settling and we doubt he will make up much ground on his more fancied rivals.
Watch Alenquer Finish 9th in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup
READ ALSO:
- 2023 MELBOURNE CUP BEGINNERS GUIDE
- BEST MELBOURNE CUP BETTING SITES
