The 2015 Moonee Valley Gold Cup field has been released and 11 stayers are set to contest the Group 2 event that will be held at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Prince Of Penzance has the chance to record back-to-back wins in the 2015 Moonee Valley Gold Cup. Photo by: Sarah Ebbett
Prince Of Penzance outstayed his rivals to take out the Moonee Valley Gold Cup last year and he has the opportunity to become the first horse since Valcurl in 1946 to win the race in back-to-back years.
The Pentire returned to the races with a fast-finishing eighth in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 29 and he ran well in the Golden Nugget Handicap (1600m) at Ballarat on September 20 and the Group 3 JRA Cup (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 2, but he felt the track when he was eighth in the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) at Caulfield on October 10.
The Herbert Power Stakes is set to be the key form reference for the Moonee Valley Gold Cup as Bohemian Lily, Bondeiger and Escado are all set to back-up this weekend.
Bohemian Lily and Bondeiger have both performed well without winning this preparation, while Escado was able to lead from start to finish and take out the JRA Cup before his flat effort in the Herbert Power Stakes.
Another past winner that has been included in the 2015 Moonee Valley Gold Cup field is veteran gelding Precedence, who is set for a fifth tilt at the Group 2 event.
Precedence first won the Moonee Valley Gold Cup way back in 2010 and he returned three years later to win in 2013, but he could finish no better than sixth behind Prince Of Penzance 12 months ago.
The son of Zabeel has previously used the Moonee Valley Gold Cup as his final prep run before the Melbourne Cup and Let’s Make Adeal is set to follow that same pattern during the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival.
Let’s Make Adeal made a slow start to her 2015 Spring Racing Carnival in the Listed Heatherlie Handicap (1700m) at Caulfield on August 29 and the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m) at the same venue on September 19, but he managed to secure a place in the 2015 Melbourne Cup field when she outstayed her rivals to take out the Group 3 The Bart Cummings (2520m) at Flemington on October 4.
The 2015 Moonee Valley Gold Cup field is rounded out by Tony McEvoy-trained Big Memory, Adelaide Cup runner-up Taiyoo, Sydney Cup placegetter Like A Carousel, Macedon Lodge-owned The United States and The Queen Of England-owned Bold Sniper.
You can score the best odds for every runner in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup with Ladbrokes, who are offering Best Tote or Starting Price +20% on every single race at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
