2023 PB Lawrence Stakes Results: Cox Plate Hope Mr Brightside Salutes First-Up
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Japanese import and 2019 Caulfield Cup winner Mer De Glace has been the early market mover in 2019 Melbourne Cup betting overnight with Ladbrokes.com.au.
Hisashi Shimizu’s winning five-year-old drew gate two at last night’s barrier draw and has since firmed from $8.00 into $7.00 with the bookmaker.
The move comes as no surprise with in-form jockey Damian Lane onboard as the 25-year-old not only seeks his 18th Group 1 win but also a spot in the history books as the first hoop to complete the Golden Slipper, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup grand slam.
Lane has won 20% of his last 50 starts and will carry a 1kg penalty in Tuesday’s $7 million race. Lane scouted Mer De Glace earlier in June during a brief stint in Hong Kong where he rode the talented stayer to a win in the Group 3 Nauo Kinen over 2000m at Hanshin before quickly convincing owners to make the trip Down Under.
A win aboard Godolphin’s Kiamichi in the Golden Slipper kick-started Lane’s incredible run before he saddled Mer De Glace a fortnight ago and Lys Gracieux in the Cox Plate last weekend. Lane has never won the Melbourne Cup and will be hoping to improve on last year’s disappointment aboard Zacada.
During trackwork on Friday Lane said he was confident with how Mer De Glace pulled up from the Cup.
“Really happy with him. He was just out there for a bit of a stretch of the legs and he seemed in good order,” Lane told Racing.com.
The last horse to win from barrier two was Might and Power in 1997, while the last Japanese horse to win the Cup was Delta Blues in 2006.
Lane was then asked if he could draw any comparisons between now and his last start and went on to say that the Japanese stallions attitude is right where it needs to be.
“Very similar, his attitude was really good. If anything, he was probably a little bit brighter when I worked him at Caulfield and before he won at Caulfield, so that was a good sign. He doesn’t seem to take much harm from the run, so I think that was the main thing we were looking for today,” Lane went on to say.
Tuesday will mark Mer De Glace’s first step up beyond 2400m, posing plenty of questions heading into the race that stops a nation.
“It’s a big question mark. My gut feel is he’ll run it out, everything we’ve put in front of him to date he’s handled well so I’m hoping that he can handle this as well
I guess I was more confident ahead of the Caulfield Cup because he was proven around that distance range. Another thing we’ve got to take into account is this is the closest he’s raced between two runs together, most of his races have been two months apart,” Lane said when asked about the step up in trip.
Full 2019 Melbourne Cup odds can be viewed here courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup Field
# | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12x1x1x434 | CROSS COUNTER (GB) | Charlie Appleby | William Buick | 5 | 57.5kg |
2 | 211x11x1x1 | MER DE GLACE (JPN) | Hisashi Shimizu | Damian Lane | 2 | 56kg |
3 | 7250×14335 | MASTER OF REALITY (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Frankie Dettori | 1 | 55.5kg |
4 | 2x0x1322x3 | MIRAGE DANCER (GB) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Ben Melham | 13 | 55.5kg |
5 | 37×3264413 | SOUTHERN FRANCE (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 14 | 55.5kg |
6 | 3344465881 | HUNTING HORN (IRE) | Aidan O’Brien | Seamie Heffernan | 11 | 55kg |
7 | 220×344216 | LATROBE (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | James McDonald | 22 | 55kg |
8 | 4x1x723516 | MUSTAJEER (GB) | Kris Lees | Damien Oliver | 6 | 55kg |
9 | 251557×790 | ROSTROPOVICH (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 12 | 55kg |
10 | 423x2411x7 | TWILIGHT PAYMENT (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Hugh Bowman | 19 | 55kg |
11 | x1x34x5125 | FINCHE (GB) | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 4 | 54kg |
12 | 8x49x58321 | PRINCE OF ARRAN (GB) | Charlie Fellowes | Michael Walker | 8 | 54kg |
13 | 1x6x237x4x | RAYMOND TUSK (IRE) | Richard Hannon | Jamie Spencer | 3 | 54kg |
14 | x196112x31 | DOWNDRAFT (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | John Allen | 15 | 53.5kg |
15 | 2×53220224 | MAGIC WAND (IRE) | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 24 | 53.5kg |
16 | 2x30x80709 | NEUFBOSC (FR) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 23 | 53.5kg |
17 | 00x048x070 | SOUND (GER) | Michael Moroney | James Winks | 10 | 53.5kg |
18 | 1514132×41 | SURPRISE BABY (NZ) | Paul Preusker | Jordan Childs | 20 | 53.5kg |
19 | 531×212224 | CONSTANTINOPLE (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Joao Moreira | 7 | 52.5kg |
20 | 322×17135 | IL PARADISO (USA) | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | 17 | 52.5kg |
21 | x11111x467 | STEEL PRINCE (IRE) | Anthony Freedman | Brett Prebble | 16 | 52.5kg |
22 | 0141×59195 | THE CHOSEN ONE (NZ) | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | Tim Clark | 18 | 52kg |
23 | 1x36621x42 | VOW AND DECLARE | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 21 | 52kg |
24 | x059x87873 | YOUNGSTAR | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 9 | 52kg |
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