Horse Racing

Prolific racehorse owner Lloyd Williams is sweating on the results of this Saturday’s Victoria Derby Day to see if the 1kg weight penalty handed down to his Bendigo Cup winner Tanby is enough to get them into next Tuesday’s 2011 Melbourne Cup field.

The Lloyd Williams-owned Tanby has been awarded a 1kg weight penalty for the 2011 Melbourne Cup

Getting the better of their more fancied stablemate, the fellow Melbourne Cup-bound At First Sight, on Wednesday Galileo five-year-old Tanby claimed an impressive one and three quarter length victory in the Listed Bendigo Cup (2400m).

The race was being used by Williams’ as an eleventh-hour bid to get Tanby, former runner-up in both the Herbert Power Stakes and Geelong cup, a starting spot in the capacity 24-horse Melbourne Cup field.

While Tanby did what was asked of him by winning the Bendigo Cup, they are still not assured of a start in the $6.2 million Flemington showcase.

Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper Greg Carpenter penalised Tanby 1kg for the victory, saying the penalty reflected the horse’s recent form and the quality of field they defeated on Wednesday.

“Tanby came away from an impressive win over his highly credentialed stablemate At First Sight to record his first black type win in the Bendigo Cup and the penalty acknowledges his emerging form since the weights were originally released,” Carpenter said.

“Prior to his win in the Bendigo Cup Tanby had finished second to Shewan in the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield and second to French visitor Dunaden in the Group 3 Geelong Cup which shows he’s a progressive in-form stayer.”

Tanby now as 51kg for the Melbourne Cup and has moved up from 38^th to 32^nd on the order of entry for the testing two-mile showdown.

The dream is still not over for Tanby, however, as there is a chance enough horses higher above them in the ballot could withdraw by the time final Melbourne Cup acceptances are taken at 5pm (AEST) on Saturday.

“The horse ranked 31^st at the same time last year ultimately secured the last place in the Cup field when final acceptances were taken so it is not inconceivable for Tanby to gain a start, but the hrose’s fate is in the hands of others,” Carpenter said.

Williams currently has six Melbourne Cup entries with Midas Touch (4^th), Linton (10^th), Mourayan (12^th), At First Sight (20^th) and Green Moon (35^th) still in contention along with Tanby.

Of his contingent At First Sight is the most fancied in the Luxbet Melbourne Cup markets at a quote of $14 despite, the galloper firmly assured of a run sitting 20^th on the order of entry.

Last-start Caulfield Cup runner-up Green Moon follows, rated a $21 chance.

Green Moon will vie for a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption by winning the $250,000 Group 3 The Lexus Stakes (2500m) at Flemington this Saturday, for which they are the $3.40 favourite to do so.

Also racing on Derby Day are Midas Touch, Linton and Mourayan in the $1 million Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) – which is the second race of the day offering a Melbourne Cup ballot exemption to the winner.

Following Lloyd’s top-two in the Melbourne Cup odds at Luxbet are then Midas Touch ($21), Mourayan ($31), Manighar ($41) and Tanby ($41).

To view the full 2011 Melbourne Cup odds and betting options as they stand today, visit Australia’s leading online bookmaker Luxbet.

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Latest 2011 Melbourne Cup Order Of Entry & Weights

Updated 27/10/2011