After 17 races were run and won at Moonee Valley with rain all of Friday night and Saturday morning, the track held up considerably well. Jockeys were cautious of taking their horses to the inside rail, but in the last race of the day we saw Bella Nipotina run straight up the rail to win the Manikato Stakes. Thus, it is fair to say that if your horse was good enough on the day, you could win from anywhere.
Moonee Valley – Cox Plate Day
Track rating: Heavy 8
Rail position: True entire circuit
Race 3: Red Anchor Stakes (1200m) | Time: 1:13.40
- Horse to follow: Serjardan (1st)
In the Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes, the Gary Portelli-trained Serjardan was too good for his rivals when he let rip with a blistering turn of foot at the top of the Moonee Valley straight to clutch victory from the jaws of defeat right on the line. After jumping from barrier one in the seven-horse field, it was always going to be a tactical affair, but luckily for this colt he had Jamie Kah riding and she gave him an absolute peach. He was able to get off the fence into clear running room at the 200m mark, which evidently won him the race as he found the line very well and recorded the second-best last 400m sectional of the day.
When to bet: Serjardan holds a nomination in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington on Saturday, and if connections choose to go there on the seven-day backup, there are plenty of reasons to follow this guy at big odds of $17. However, if Portelli and his team choose to go to something a little easier, still over 1200m, this guy will be very hard to beat down the Flemington straight throughout the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Race 8: Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m) | Time: 2:39.38
- Horse to follow: Lunar Flare (2nd)
After booking her ticket into the Melbourne Cup by winning the Group 3 Bart Cummings, Grahame Begg’s star mare, Lunar Flare, produced another great run last Saturday, albeit in defeat behind Francesco Guardi in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup. This seven-year-old mare is ticking along nicely for the Begg stable, as she ran home very well from the back of the field, going down by just under four lengths after it was clear that the winner was home a long way out.
When to bet: Lunar Flare was given a three-week freshen in between The Bart Cummings and the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, which should hold her in good stead as she now goes into the Melbourne Cup 10 days after her last run. This daughter of Fiorente will have 51.5kg in the race that stops the nation, and with a solid tempo, she will be running home down the middle of the Flemington straight at the end of 3200m. This girl is $21 with online bookmakers in the Melbourne Cup market, which is well worth a dollar or two considering how well she is going this preparation.
Race 9: Cox Plate (2040m) | Time: 2:10.17
- Horse to follow: I’m Thunderstruck (2nd)
Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr had grand plans for I’m Thunderstruck after he won the Golden Eagle last year, saying that the 2022 Cox Plate was going to be their aim for this year’s Melbourne Spring Carnival, and they went very close to conquering that goal. Their star five-year-old gelding has had an outstanding campaign, running in five Group 1 races, winning the Makybe Diva Stakes and running second in the Caulfield Stakes, Memsie Stakes and Cox Plate. At his last two starts he has been beaten by Anamoe by a combined 0.6 lengths, so to say this guy is a serious racehorse is no overstatement.
When to bet: Price confirmed on Tuesday morning that I’m Thunderstruck will run in the Champions Mile on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival on November 5. The 1600m at Flemington, a bigger track with a longer straight, will suit this guy down to the ground. We saw how strong he was in the Makybe Diva Stakes when he eventually nabbed Alligator Blood in the shadows of the post at the end of the Flemington straight, so with a genuine tempo in the Champions Mile we should see a similar result for I’m Thunderstruck.
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