Wednesday’s Group 3 $215 000 Geelong Cup winner, Leica Ding, has been allocated a half kilo penalty for the Melbourne Cup on November 3.
The Darren Weir-trained mare’s penalty was announced by Racing Victoria’s Chief Handicapper, Greg Carpenter following her last stride victory over Bart Cummings’ Dandaad by a long neck, denying the legendary trainer his first Geelong Cup victory.
Leica Ding now has 50.5kg in the Melbourne Cup, and after passing the ballot clause for the race yesterday, the penalty has lifted her from 67th to 31st in the order of entry.
She has firmed nicely in the Cup betting markets too, now backed at $21.
Bauer (2008), The Fuzz (2007) and Mandela (2006), the previous three Geelong Cup winners, were all penalised a full kilogram for their victories in the lead-up to the Flemington feature.
Wednesday’s Geelong Cup runner-up, Dandaad, has also passed the ballot requirement for the Melbourne Cup advancing from 66th to 54th in the order entry and is currently at odds of $51.
In other news, Guyno, this year’s Perth Cup winner, bled during its run in yesterday’s Geelong Cup and today has been officially pulled from the Melbourne Cup.
