The always popular Canberra Cup 2018 takes place this Sunday and the early money for the clash is on the Bjorn Baker-trained Show A Star.
Show A Star is tipped as the horse to beat in Canberra Cup 2018 betting for Sunday. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Due to run as Canberra Race 6 at 4:20pm (AEDT), the Listed $200,000 Canberra Cup (2000m) field is down to 15 runners after two early scratchings.
One of the top races on the card alongside the Group 3 Black Opal Stakes field of potential Golden Slipper-bound two-year-olds, it is an open edition of the Canberra Cup this autumn.
Nine of the hopefuls are under $10 for the win in the latest Canberra Cup odds at Ladbrokes.com.au with the bookies having a hard time separating the best from the rest.
The early market mover and current favourite in Canberra Cup betting backed in from $4.60 to $4.20 is the mid-field drawn Show A Star.
The Excites six-year-old races at the track for the first time and also chases his maiden win over further than 1700m.
He has had four previous goes at the Canberra Cup distance for two thirds and is back up over more metres on the back of some very promising lead-up runs in Sydney over the summer.
He has run in the first three in his past four starts including two wins at Rosehill (1500m) and Warwick Farm (1600m) respectively.
Last time out Show A Star was runner-up to Cellarman in a 1500m Rosehill handicap on February 24 carrying 55kg and he will need to be improving going up to 56kg on Sunday.
The eight other single-figure hopes are all paying between $8 and $9.50 to beat home Show A Star in the Canberra Cup results, making for a tough day out for the punters.
Well-weighted on the 54kg minimum is the Barbara Joseph & Paul Jones-trained Alamosa five-year-old Almost Court ($8) who comes off a string of consistent runs.
The local gelding races at Canberra for the first time but has an overall record of six wins and three thirds from 14 starts, barley running a bad race.
Winner of January’s Narooma Cup he went on to run secondi in the Bega Cup over a mile in early February before a Randwick win carrying 56kg two back over the 2000m.
He saw the 2000m at Randwick again on March 3 and was brave in defeat going down only two lengths under the big 58.5kg weight, something he will relish coming right back down from on the quick back-up on Canberra Cup Day.
Also at $8 in the markets and drawn the rails is Get On The Grange, a Wyong-trained eight-year-old veteran having his 67th start on the weekend.
Allan Kehoe’s gelding may be well-tested, but the galloper continues to show a zest for racing not having finished worse than fourth in his last six starts.
His latest run was in late February at Rosehill Gardens when under two lengths beaten for fourth behind More Energy in the Listed Parramatta Cup (1900m), an ideal lead-up into the Canberra Cup.
Other standout Canberra Cup hopefuls in 2018 include the 59kg top-weight Auvray who enjoyed a Group 3 win in Sydney last September, Lindsay Park’s 10-year-old Jacquinot Bay to be ridden by Damien Oliver and the Joe Pride-trained Gamblestown with the outside alley to overcome.
Check out the full Canberra Cup 2018 field and betting markets below, odds provided by Ladbrokes.com.au.
