The Melbourne Cup odds for Cox Plate runner-up Fawkner continued to firm overnight in the lead up to the ‘The Race That Stops The Nation’ at Flemington today.
The Melbourne Cup odds for Fawkner have firmed overnight and the grey is now marked at $7.50. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
The Robert Hickmott trained Fawkner is now on the second line of betting at Ladbrokes.com.au at $7.50, firming from $8 and is sharing that quote with the Caulfield Cup third placegetter Lucia Valentina.
Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti remains the favourite at $6 for the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) while last Saturday’s Lexus Stakes winner Signoff and German stayer Protectionist have remained solid at $8.
Fawkner proved himself as top line Group 1 performer with a win in last year’s Group 1 $2.5m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield before finishing sixth to Fiorente in the Melbourne Cup after racing near the tail of the field in the early stages.
But owner Lloyd Williams has changed the racing pattern of the seven year old who has been settling closer to the pace this Spring with great success and will be in the top half a dozen again on Tuesday.
“He will be in the first few. After last year’s Melbourne Cup one of the things we have trained him to do here is to jump and be in the firing line,” Williams told Racing Ahead.
“He’s had the T J Smith preparation, be in the first three and that’s how you win races. You noticed him in the Craiglee (Makybe Diva Stakes), you noticed him in the Caulfield Stakes, you noticed him in the Cox Plate, you can see what we are doing with him. He won’t be far away.”
This Spring Fawkner’s form has been top class with a first up second in the Group 1 $400,000 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 13 before winning the Group 1 $400,000 Cathay Pacific Caulfield Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield on October 11.
The Reset grey then went down narrowly to the super Irish galloper Adelaide when second in the Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley last week.
Regular rider Nick Hall will once again be aboard Fawkner who will jump from barrier eight in the twenty-two horse field.
In other Melbourne Cup betting news, the scratching of $26 chance Cavalryman hasn’t affected the market order to any great degree except that English stayer My Ambivalent has firmed slightly from $41 to $34 and Damien Oliver’s mount Mutual Regard has moved in a point to $10 overnight.
The Chris Waller trained Who Shot Thebarman also firmed in from $21 to $19.
Latest Melbourne Cup market order: $6 Admire Rakti, $7.50 Fawkner, Lucia Valentina, $8 Signoff, Protectionist, $10 Mutual Regard, $19 Red Cadeaux, Who Shot Thebarman, $26 Junoob, Willing Foe, Araldo, $34 My Ambivalent, $61 Brambles, Opinion, $71 Gatewood, , Lidari $81 Seismos, Au Revoir, Royal Diamond, Precedence, $201 Mr O’Ceirin, Unchain My Heart.
