Galileo Choice to carry 8st 4lb in Melbourne

DERMOT WELD’S Galileo’s Choice has been given 53.5kg (8st 4lb) in weights announced yesterday for November’s Melbourne Cup as the Irish trainer chases a third win in Australia’s most famous race.

Weld has also left in Rite Of Passage and Sapphire in the race that stops a nation. But it is Galileo’s Choice, a dual Group Three winner, who has already entered quarantine.

It is 19 years since Vintage Crop altered the face of the Melbourne Cup and his stable companion Media Puzzle followed up in 2002.

However, the last two renewals have been French dominated and those two winners, Americain and Dunaden, top the weights this year on 58kg each (9st 2lb).

Two other Irish-trained horses figure among the long-range entries. Hartani (John Oxx) and I Have A Dream (Aidan O’Brien) have been allocated weights lower than 52kg.

Bookmaker reaction was to cut the price further of Luca Cumani’s ante-post favourite Mount Athos, who has been given 55kg (8st 9lb).

The big race focus this Saturday will be across channel, including where David Nagle’s highly progressive sprinter Maarek could carve out a singular place for himself as Ireland’s first winner of the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday.

The dual-Group Three winner tops the weights for the big handicap on 10st but Co Tipperary based Nagle plans to employ 5lb claimer Mark Enright to ride the horse. “It’s not like the old days anymore with 2st from top to bottom. If we take 5lb off with Mark he’ll be running off 9st 9lb and the bottom weight is likely to have 8st 13lb, so it’s not too bad,” said Nagle. “He ran in the Silver Cup last year and was fourth, but he was stuck out on his own in the middle.”

Maarek has been a transformed runner this season, though, and is as low as 10 to 1 in ante-post betting. David Marnane’s Jamesie is another possible Irish starter.

“If it comes up soft enough we’ll run,” added Nagle. “He’s in good form and there’s no other suitable race until Ascot on October 20th. I can’t see any reason not to run.”

Sunday’s domestic feature will be the Group Three Cordell Lavarack/Lanwades Stud Stakes and five of the 22 entries left in the nine-furlong event are British-trained.

They include the Henry Cecil-trained Andromeda Galaxy, who carries the famous Wildenstein colours, and John Dunlop’s Beatrice Aurore who was runner up in a valuable race in Turkey last time.

Weld’s Blandford Stakes runner-up Caponata looks the pick of the home entries.

* SADDLER’S Rock will bid to record his first Group One victory when he takes part in the Qatar Prix Du Cadran at Longchamp on October 7th.

Trainer John Oxx is aiming the four-year-old stayer at the French marathon over 2½ miles on Arc day after he failed to defend his Doncaster Cup crown.

This year’s Goodwood Cup winner, unsuited to the slow pace, was only fifth behind Times Up. But Oxx was pleased he improved on his poor display at York on his previous start.

“He’s fine. He came out of it well . . . It was a very slow pace,” said the Currabeg handler.