Listed Gosford Gold Cup (2100m) headliner Pelicano has been given a big advantage in Friday’s race after drawing the inside start from barrier one.
Pelicano will jump from barrier one in the Gosford Gold Cup on Friday. Photo by Steve Hart.
The Tony McEvoy-trained gelding is one of 10 stayers set to tackle the $150,000 race at Gosford Racecourse later this week with Hugh Bowman to ride.
Pelicano won the Listed Werribee Cup (2600m) in December 2013 before an injury saw the gelding sidelined for an entire year. He made his return in the Group 2 Villiers Stakes (1600m) on December 13, in which the six-year-old ran a solid eighth. He fared much better in the Summer Cup (2000m) on December 26, finishing just outside the placings in fourth place.
The gelding will carry the sole top weight of 59kg, which will be his heaviest weight of the season.
Chris Waller will deliver a dual-pronged attack on the 2015 Gosford Gold Cup after accepting with both Hoylonny and Multilateral.
Six-year-old gelding Hoylonny will have to overcome a start from the widest gate with Tye Angland serving as hoop.
Hoylonny last won a Benchmark 95 over 1800m in August but has finished end of the field in his four starts since, including running dead last in the Summer Cup last time out against six of his rivals.
British import Multilateral will be Waller’s best chance at winning the Gold Cup after drawing barrier two with Glyn Schofield to ride.
The six-year-old gelding will back up from the Listed Tattersalls Club Cup (2400m) at Royal Randwick on January 1, which he won one length clear of fellow Gold Cup rival Ghost Protocol.
Multilateral missed the jump to settle second last before tracking up behind the trio of leaders at the 600m mark. He was forced four wide at the turn but hit the front with 100m to go and held on to win.
Midsummer Sun and Casino Dancer round out the Summer Cup first three that are all travelling to Gosford on Friday.
The Sam Kavanagh-trained Midsummer Sun will jump from barrier three with Blake Shinn to ride while Mike Van Gestel’s Casino Dancer will jump from barrier four.
Van Gestel has voiced his trepidation about his mare’s ability to succeed on the tight track given her timid nature but hoop Jason Collett should make easy work of it given his renowned calmness.
Check out the complete 2015 Gosford Gold Cup field and barrier draw before.
Betting markets for the race are set to go live at Ladbrokes.com.au shortly so get your online betting s up and running in time.
2015 Gosford Gold Cup Final Field & Barrier Draw
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | H Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4871621×84 | PELICANO | Tony McEvoy | Hugh Bowman | 1 | 59kg | 101 |
| 2 | 0029109×80 | HOYLONNY | Chris Waller | Tye Angland | 10 | 57kg | 97 |
| 3 | 72×9852302 | MIDSUMMER SUN (GB) | Sam Kavanagh | Blake Shinn | 3 | 57kg | 97 |
| 4 | 35176×6061 | MULTILATERAL (USA) | Chris Waller | Glyn Schofield | 2 | 56.5kg | 96 |
| 5 | 16x0504x69 | GALLATIN | John O’Shea | Sam Clipperton | 5 | 54kg | 90 |
| 6 | x0611188x9 | ORIENTAL LADY (GER) | Kris Lees | Brenton Avdulla | 8 | 54kg | 86 |
| 7 | x665751553 | CASINO DANCER | Mike Van Gestel | Jason Collett | 4 | 54kg | 81 |
| 8 | 8885781082 | GHOST PROTOCOL (IRE) | Paul Perry | Tim Clark | 7 | 54kg | 80 |
| 9 | 5592114682 | BLAZING DRAGON | Bart & James Cummings | Kerrin McEvoy | 9 | 54kg | 78 |
| 10 | 5450×38218 | PHRASES | Bindi Cheers | Andrew Gibbons | 6 | 54kg | 78 |
