On Friday night the Bart Cummings-trained Precedence further stormed into Caulfield Cup contention after coasting to victory in the $200,000 Group 3 JRA Cup (2040m) at Moonee Valley.
Five-year-old Zabeel gelding Precedence jumped as the $3.20 favourite and went on to defeat Naturalism Stakes winner Rainbow Styling ($12) by over a length, with the Lloyd Williams-owned Linton ($3.60) in third.
Precedence was ridden by Blake Shinn, who also enjoyed victory aboard Hollowlea in the Group 2 Stutt Stakes at the same meeting.
Last year’s JRA Cup winner Alcopop ran an eye-catching fifth on Friday night, reaffirming his Caulfield and Melbourne Cup chances for this year.
After the victory, the gelding’s first of the spring season, bookies quickly readjusted their 2010 Caulfield Cup betting markets, with Precedence firming into the $8 second elect behind stablemate Dariana at Sportsbet.
However, Cummings is sweating on a JRA Cup victory penalty from the VRC’s Chief Handicapper Greg Carpenter.
Precedence is still well down the Caulfield Cup elimination order in 42nd, needing a historic 2kg penalty to have a chance of securing a spot in the field for October 16.
A run in the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) at Caulfield on October 9 will then likely be used by Cummings to try and qualify Precedence for the Cup.
To back Precedence in the early Caulfield Cup betting, sign up with Australia’s favourite online bookie [sportsbet] today and get access to better odds than the TAB!
2010 JRA Cup Results
| Place | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PRECEDENCE | Blake Shinn | Bart Cummings | $3.20 |
| 2 | RAINBOW STYLING | Jim Cassidy | M, W & J Hawkes | $12 |
| 3 | LINTON | Michael Rodd | Robert Hickmott | $3.60 |
| 4 | EMBLEM OF LIBERTY | Michael Walker | Darren Weir | $61 |
| 5 | ALCOPOP | Mark Zahra | Jake Stephens | $16 |
| 6 | AVIENUS | Craig Williams | Mark Webb | $5 |
| 7 | ABOVE AVERAGE | Damien Oliver | Lee Freedman | $21 |
| 8 | CHARTREUX | Jason MAskiell | David Hayes | $15 |
| 9 | BELSCENICA | Ben Melham | Tony Noonan | $21 |
| 10 | RIGHT FONG | Mark Pegus | David Balfour | $26 |
| 11 | EXTRA ZERO | Craig Newitt | David Hayes | $31 |
| 12 | HASTEIN | Stephen Baster | Mark Kavanagh | $18 |
| 13 | BASALTICO | Luke Nolen | B & S Wilde | $101 |
| SCR | PERSIAN STAR | – | – | – |
