Racing Odds: Opportunity Abounds In 2014 Melbourne Cup
October 2nd, 2014 by Pom de TurfJust about a month or so out from the 2014 Melbourne Cup, and Gai Waterhouse’s The Offer is still the favourite, though Bande has joined him at $12.00. Expect to see some changes in those Racing odds over the next month, though, if Racing Victoria’s Greg Carpenter’s predictions are anything to go by. The man charged with the difficult task of handling the weight allocations for this year’s Race That Stops A Nation is on record saying that this year could be the ‘Melbourne Cup of opportunity’ – he reckons the race is wide open, and that more than a few horses have a chance of coming away with the laurels.
And one of the factors in the race that will get plenty of media attention between now and November 4th will be the overseas arrivals – the horses making their way to Australian shores to challenge for titles in the Melbourne Spring. Carpenter’s colleague at Racing Victoria, and the man who scours the world for talent to import, Leigh Jordan thinks that the international contingent will be important, but not as overwhelming as the media attention suggests. The Melbourne Cup field might be about a third imported talent, with ‘maybe six or eight (international horses). I think everyone gets carried away with this notion they’re going to come out in vast numbers. There will be quite a few internationals here but they will be spread throughout — four or five in the Caulfield Cup, three or four in the Cox Plate, a few in some of the staying races through Cup Week and Slade Power in the sprint.’
So there’s what the guys who’ve been working on making the Melbourne Spring happen have been saying. Watch out for movement in the Racing odds for the Melbourne Cup, we reckon, as the day of the big race gets closer, and look out for some classy international talent in other key races, too – but don’t expect the locals to be blown away…
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