Co-trainer Tom Dabernig has confirmed the Lindsay Park stable’s plans to back-up their surprise Caulfield Cup winner Boom Time over the two miles of the 2017 Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday of November.
Caulfield Cup winner Boom Time is confirmed for the 2017 Melbourne Cup field on Tuesday November 7. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Aiming to be the first stayer since Ethereal (2001) to do the coveted Spring Cups double, Boom Time has firmed into $34 in futures markets at Ladbrokes.com.au for the ‘race that stops a nation’.
One of four runners for David & Ben Hayes and Dabernig in last weekend’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), the Flying Spur stallion delivered a fairy tale result as a $51 roughie.
Kiwi expat Cory Parish celebrated his first Group 1 winning ride in his first Caulfield Cup aboard six-year-old Boom Time, who swapped back to the inside late to charge home ahead of Single Gaze (2nd) and beaten Irish-trained favourite Johannes Vermeer (3rd).
Dabernig believes there is no issues with Boom Time running out the two miles of the Group 1 $6.2 million Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 7, confirming the galloper for the classic.
“He is that type of horse that was always going to be in the right spot and it will be similar in the Melbourne Cup,” Dabernig told the Brisbane Times.
“He races and relaxes in forward position and when you saw where he was to the turn it was obvious that he was going to be hard to beat.
“There is no doubt that he will run out the two miles at Flemington and he might still be underestimated.”
The only horse to run a faster final 200m than Boom Time in the Caulfield Cup was the British visitor Marmelo who flashed home from the back dead-heating for sixth.
Marmelo has firmed into $6.50 co-favouritism with the defending Melbourne Cup winner Almandin.
The all-in Melbourne Cup odds online through Ladbrokes.com.au on Boom Time meanwhile have come in from triple-figures to $34.
Boom Time goes straight into the Melbourne Cup field without another run, out to be the first winner of the famous Flemington Race 7 to do so since the Japanese raider Delta Blues (3rd in 2006).
Carrying just 52kg to victory over the weekend, Boom Time is up to 53kg in the Melbourne Cup weights after receiving a 1kg penalty for his Caulfield Cup victory.
Six-year-olds have dominated recent Melbourne Cup results with five winning in the past seven years, most recently Darren Weir’s 100/1 roughie Prince Of Penzance (2015) who also had 53kg on his back.
Fellow co-trainer of Boom Time, Hall of Famer David Hayes is also the 100% owner of the progressive stayer and was also confident the horse would run a strong two miles.
“Watching the replay what I liked about him was how well he stayed,” he told the Herald Sun.
“He had such a hard run and he stayed the distance better than most of them.
“He was strong to the line and on that it worth taking on the two miles.”
The stable are also set to give Harlem a chance to atone for his eighth in the Caulfield Cup in the Melbourne Cup with another run scheduled in the interim.
To check the updated Melbourne Cup odds on Boom Time to do the double, visit Ladbrokes.com.au now.
