Caulfield Cup winning New Zealand horseman Murray Baker will look to continue his gun raid on the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival this Wednesday with Maygrove representing the stable in the Bendigo Cup 2015 field.
Last year’s Sydney Cup winner The Offer is top weight in Wednesday’s 2015 Bendigo Cup field in Victoria. Photo: Steve Hart.
Due to jump as Race 8 at 4:00pm (AEST) at the mid-week meet, this year’s $300,000 Group 3 Jayco Bendigo Cup (2400m) features a final field of 11 acceptors.
Cambridge-based Baker has a genuine hope for the $6.2 million Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) Tuesday week in Mongolian Khan who won the Caulfield Cup last start and is now in with a shot at becoming the 13th horse to complete the Spring Cups double.
Then last weekend on Cox Plate Day another of Baker’s four-year-olds Turn Me Loose backed up from a Seymour Cup win the day after the Caulfield Cup to earn a run in the $1 million Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m) on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival winning the Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m) at Moonee Valley.
Now in the Bendigo Cup Baker will saddle-up Authorized five-year-old Maygrove, the grey coming off a string of runs down under including back-to-back fourths to Let’s Make Adeal in the Group 3 The Bart Cummings (2520m) and Almoonqith in the Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) this month.
Last year’s Bendigo Cup winner Bring Something backed up at Flemington on Emirates Stakes Day running fifth in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m), a definite option for this year’s champion.
Sitting top of the Bendigo Cup field and weights this spring is the Gai Waterhouse-trained The Offer in barrier seven carrying 59kg with Michael Walker, runner-up on Criterion in the Cox Plate behind star mare Winx last Saturday, in the saddle.
Best known for his Sydney Cup Group 1 win over the 3200m last year, The Offer broke a lengthy drought at the start of this prep with a black-type win over the mile at Hawkesbury in August.
His lead-up into the Bendigo Cup was a fourth when under two lengths off the winner in the Listed Tattersall’s Cup (2400m) at Randwick carrying 61kg on October 17, the seven-year-old to appreciate the drop in distance this week.
The only two other Bendigo Cup acceptors weighted above the 54kg minimum are the Team Hawkes-trained Leebaz (57.5kg) drawn the outside barrier 11 and John Sargent’s Group 1 winning mare Kirramosa (54.5kg) in gate two with Chris Parnham aboard.
Leebaz was last seen running third to Stratum Star in the Group 3 Coongy Handicap (2000m) on Caulfield Cup Day while Alamosa five-year-old Kirramosa is out to improve on a 10th to Winx in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) from the start of the month in Sydney.
Other notable Bendigo Cup hopefuls include the Pat Carey-trained Cranbourne Cup runner-up Kareeming and Michael Moroney’s last start Benalla Gold Cup winner Araldo Junior.
See below for the full Bendigo Cup 2015 field, barriers, jockeys and weights below then visit Ladbrokes.com.au who are offering Best Tote or SP + 20% on the Group 3 Wednesday feature!
2015 Bendigo Cup Final Field & Barrier Draw
Bendigo Race 8 (4:00pm) – 28/10/2015
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | H. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 960x8x1554 | THE OFFER (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse | Michael Walker | 7 | 59kg | 107 |
| 2 | 30210×0993 | LEEBAZ (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Dwayne Dunn | 11 | 57.5kg | 104 |
| 3 | x6650x5550 | KIRRAMOSA (NZ) | John Sargent | Chris Parnham | 2 | 54.5kg | 102 |
| 4 | 12146×0744 | MAYGROVE | Murray Baker | Matthew Cameron | 4 | 54kg | 95 |
| 5 | 321143×975 | TOOLEYBUC KID | Darren Weir | Dean Yendall | 8 | 54kg | 95 |
| 6 | 2211303252 | KAREEMING | Pat Carey | Damian Lane | 5 | 54kg | 90 |
| 7 | 71311×901 | ARALDO JUNIOR (GER) | Michael Moroney | Craig Newitt | 9 | 54kg | 89 |
| 8 | 1150x7x018 | WEXFORD TOWN (IRE) | Robert Hickmott | Craig Williams | 6 | 54kg | 87 |
| 9 | 3x10x31 | DIVAN (NZ) | Robert Hickmott | Damien Oliver | 1 | 54kg | 70 |
| 10 | 707×519592 | SAVANNAH MOON | Rod Symons | Ms Jackie Beriman (a) | 10 | 54kg | 69 |
| 11 | 6947719116 | THUNDER SET | Vince Jones | Darren Gauci | 3 | 54kg | 62 |
