Wednesday’s Gr.3 Geelong Cup (2400m) winner Tralee Rose (NZ) (Tavistock) has avoided a penalty for the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) on Tuesday week.
The Symon Wilde-trained daughter of Tavistock remains on 51kg in the Melbourne Cup, but has risen four places to 20th in the order of entry in 24 hours thanks to the prizemoney earned in yesterday’s win and the withdrawal of higher ranked trio Montefilia (Kermadec), Dawn Patrol (Galileo) and King of Leogrance (Camelot).
In electing not to penalise the five-year-old New Zealand-bred mare, Racing Victoria Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter noted hers was a hard-fought victory over an outsider who is not nominated for the Melbourne Cup in Dr Drill (Dansili).
He further added that no mare has placed in a Melbourne Cup in the 15 editions since Makybe Diva (Desert King) won the race in 2005.
Geelong Cup third placegetter, the Sue Murphy-trained South Australian visitor Hasta La War (Declaration of War), was another to rise in the order of entry owing to prizemoney earned yesterday. He improved one position to 39th but will likely need to win the Gr.3 Hotham Handicap (2500m) at Flemington on October 30 to secure a Cup start.
