Bart Cummings runner Precedence might back up on Derby Day in effort to reach Melbourne Cup
CUP ORDER OF ENTRY: BART Cummings may need to revert to his proven Melbourne Cup-winning formula in an effort to get Precedence into Tuesday's field.
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BART Cummings may need to revert to his proven Melbourne Cup-winning formula in a last-ditch attempt to get Precedence into the field for the famous Flemington "two-miler" next Tuesday.
Precedence was issued with a 1kg penalty for his Moonee Valley Cup win, taking him to 53kg and 29th on the order of entry for the Melbourne Cup.
With the Cup restricted to 24 runners, Precedence remains only a borderline chance of squeezing into the fileld.
Cummings, who now trains in partnership with his grandson James, had planned for Precedence to go straight into the Melbourne Cup after his Moonee Valley win.
But with Precedence in danger of missing a start in the race that stops a nation, Cumming is considering whether to back up with the stayer in either the Group 1 $1 million Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) or the Group 3 $300,000 Lexus Stakes (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday as the winner of those races is exempt from ballot for the Melbourne Cup.
"The preference was not to run on Derby Day," James Cummings admitted.
"We might still roll the dice and keep him home on Saturday but we have nominated him for the Mackinnon and the Lexus just in case.
"If we do decide to run him again, at least the horse has only had three starts this spring - it is not like he has had a lot of racing so he has still got fresh legs."
Bart Cummings has won 12 Melbourne Cups and 11 of those ran on Derby Day - Light Fingers (1965), Galilee (1966), Red Handed (1967), Think Big (1975), Gold And Black (1977), Hyperno (1979), Let's Elope (1991), Rogan Josh (1999) and Viewed (2008) all contested the Mackinnon, while Think Big (1974) and Kingston Rule (1990) lined up in the Lexus.
The trainer's champion, Saintly, was his only Cup winner that didn't race on Derby Day, his final lead-up race being his epic 1996 Cox Plate win. Precedence is Cummings's last remaining entry in this year's Melbourne Cup.
After the second acceptances for the Melbourne Cup were taken yesterday, there remains 47 stayers still in the hunt for a start in next Tuesday's big race. The highlights include:
THERE are 11 northern hemisphere-trained stayers still in the Melbourne Cup including Dunaden, Red Cadeaux, Dandino, Mount Athos, Royal Empire, Simenon and Vereema.
OWNER Lloyd Williams has six fully qualified stayers - Green Moon, Fawkner, Sea Moon, Seville, Mourayan and Masked Marvel.
TRAINER Chris Waller paid up for Foreteller, Hawkspur, Kelinni, Moriarty and Opinion.
GAI Waterhouse is hoping she can win her first Melbourne Cup with either Fiorente, Tres Blue, Julienas or Vaquera.
THE notable omissions are one-time Melbourne Cup favourites It's A Dundeel and Puissance De Lune.
The Mackinnon Stakes has attracted 23 entries with 15 of those also among Melbourne Cup second acceptors including three of the first four over the line in the Caulfield Cup - Fawkner (first), Dear Demi (third) and Jet Away (fourth).
There is a bumper 25 stayers nominated for the Lexus Stakes and only three of those are not in the Melbourne Cup. Sea Moon is the only Cup runner in the Lexus field who has already secured a start next Tuesday.
MELBOURNE CUP ORDER OF ENTRY
Flemington, Tuesday week
(Winners of Saturday’s 2500m Lexus Stakes and 2000m Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington gain exemption from ballot). Final declarations, Saturday 4.30pm
1 FAWKNER (Robert Hickmott) 6g 54.5kg $15
2 DUNADEN (Mikel Delzangles, Fr) 8h 58.5kg $26
3 GREEN MOON (Robert Hickmott) 7h 57.5kg $26
4 RED CADEAUX (Ed Dunlop, Eng) 8g 56.5kg $41
5 SEA MOON (Robert Hickmott) 6h 56.5kg $13
6 SUPER COOL (Mark Kavanagh) 4g 54.5kg $51
7 VOLEUSE DE COEURS (Michael Moroney) 5m 54kg $14
8 FIORENTE (Gai Waterhouse) 6h 55kg $5
9 HAWKSPUR (Chris Waller) 4h 53.5kg $10
10 TRES BLUE (Gai Waterhouse) 4h 51kg $21
11 BROWN PANTHER (Tom Dascombe, Eng) 6h 55kg $21
12 FORETELLER (Chris Waller) 7g 55kg $31
13 ETHIOPIA (Pat Carey) 5g 54.5kg $71
14 DANDINO (Marco Botti, Eng) 7h 54.5kg $7
15 VEREMA (Alain de Royer Dupre, Fr) 5m 53kg $14
16 MOURAYAN (Robert Hickmott) 8h 54.5kg $51
17 SEVILLE (Robert Hickmott) 6h 54.5kg $19
18 DEAR DEMI (Clarry Conners) 4m 51kg $26
19 SILENT ACHIEVER (Roger James, NZ) 5m 52.5kg $41
20 MOUNT ATHOS (Luca Cumani, Eng) 7g 54kg $8.50
21 ROYAL EMPIRE (Saeed bin Suroor, Eng) 5h 54kg $21
22 MASKED MARVEL (Robert Hickmott) 6h 54kg $31
23 SIMENON (Willie Mullins, Ire) 7g 53.5kg $21
24 MR MOET (Adam Durrant) 6g 53.5kg $51
24-horse field as it stands
OTHERS IN THE HUNT
25 KELINNI (Chris Waller) 6g 53kg $81
26 IBICENCO (Peter Moody) 6h 53kg (inc 1kg pen) $51
27 MY QUEST FOR PEACE (Peter Moody) 6h 53kg $101
28 MORIARTY (Chris Waller) 6g 53kg $31
29 PRECEDENCE (Bart and James Cummings) 8h 52kg $51
30 JET AWAY (David Hayes) 7h 53kg $26
Odds: TAB
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