Newly crowned Melbourne premiership winning jockey Glen Boss gave a glowing report about Melbourne Cup favourite Puissance De Lune after an impressive workout at Ballarat on Saturday morning.
Puissance De Lune scoring a runaway win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Puissance De Lune showed no signs of a fetlock injury that required surgery in the Autumn and was under double wraps at the end of in the 900m jump out on a water logged Ballarat track.
“His action felt better than it did last autumn when he had that slight problem and it felt better than last spring,” Boss told the Herald Sun.
Boss couldn’t control his enthusiasm when Puissance De Lune was a stunning five lengths winner in the Group 3 $250,000 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington last Spring and immediately declared him the one beat in this year’s Group 1 $6.2m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 5.
And Saturday’s gallop has only reinforced Boss’ opinion.
“There’s a long way ahead but I would think he’d be hard to beat in anything he contests,” Boss said.
“He’s an exciting prospect. He could be the best horse in Australia.”
“He’s really furnished. He’s a big powerful bull. He looked magnificent.”
“He was on the bit throughout and cantered round to finish second.”
Boss will be looking for his fourth Melbourne Cup victory after making history by winning three consecutive Cup on the might mare Makybe Diva in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Trainer Darren Weir had planned to give Puissance De Lune only one run in the Autumn before preparing him for the Melbourne Spring Carnival, so the surgery to remove bones chips from his front fetlock didn’t really affected his plans time wise.
Weir discovered the problem after the giant grey flashed home to dead heat with front runner Budriguez in the Group 2 $220,000 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on March 9.
Puissance De Lune will kick off his Melbourne Cup campaign on Saturday when he lines up in the Group 2 $220,000 Back To Caulfield P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
The six year old isn’t nominated for the Group 1 $2.65m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 19 and will most likely head to the Melbourne Cup via the Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 26.
Puissance De Lune is currently the $8.50 favourite for the Melbourne Cup with last year’s runner-up Fiorente the second pick at $11, the Lloyd Williams import Sea Moon at $13 and the English stayer Brown Panther at $14.
