Champion jockey Glen Boss is out to prove that he still has what it takes to ride and win spring feature races like the famous Melbourne Cup. A multiple Cup winner, Boss rode the majestic mare Makybe Diva in all three of her successive victories before he moved to Melbourne last year. After fading from centre stage success, Boss is back and on the search for a ride in this year’s race.
If he can secure a ride and go on to take victory at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November, he will join an elite group of only two other jockeys to win four Melbourne Cups alongside Harry White and Bobby Lewis. But his chances of locking in a ride are shortening, as he has been denied a Cup mount on Irish mare Profound Beauty, one of the leaders in the ante-post betting markets.
Profound Beauty, who Boss rode to a respectable fifth-place in the Cup last year, looked to be his best chance in gaining entry into the race. The mare’s trainer, Dermot Weld, has however booked Pat Smullen to ride her this year, if Smullen can get down to the right weight.
After achieving the incredible feat of three consecutive Cup wins in 2002-2004, Boss had a hard time last year. Returning from a stretch in Hong Kong he found his Sydney runs had all but evaporated and rumours that he was riding poorly spread through the horse racing industry. Seemingly back on track now, Boss acquired his 65th Group One win last Saturday with Turffontein in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield.
Claiming the title of Australia’s top Group One rider in the seasons 2003-2005, Boss is hoping to make his Melbourne Cup comeback on six-year-old Speed Gifted. He is due to test the Lee Freedman-trained horse next month in The Metropolitan at Randwick.
Speed Gifted, a past English stayer, needs a win in The Metropolitan to qualify for the Caulfield Cup and get him on the path to a start in the Melbourne Cup.
Whether it is this year or in the near future, the flamboyant Boss is confident his fourth Melbourne Cup win is possible.
Loading ...