Kiwi star It’s A Dundeel has been rated as good as dual Cox Plate winner So You Think at the same stage of their careers after being allocated 56kg for the Group 1 $6.2m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 5.
It's A Dundeel has been rated the equal of So You Think in the Melbourne Cup. Photo by Steve Hart.
So You Think , who went on to win a total of ten Group 1 races, five in Australia and five in England and Ireland, ran third to Americain and Maluckyday with 56kg as a four year old in the 2010 Melbourne Cup.
While under the care of Cups King Bart Cummings, So You Think won the 2009 Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley as a three year old and completed back to back wins in the weight for age championship of Australasia the following year.
It’s A Dundeel had a stellar three year old season collecting three consecutive Group 1s against his own age group during this year’s Sydney Autumn Carnival.
He took out the Group 1 $550,000 Hyland Race Colours Royal Randwick Guineas (1600m) at Warwick Farm, the $500,000 M. J. Bale Rosehill Guineas (2000m) at Rosehill by six and three quarter lengths and the $1.5m David Jones Australian Derby (2400m) at Randwick by six lengths.
The High Chaparral entire also took out the Group 1 $400,000 Chandon Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick in the previous Spring.
Racing Victoria chief handicapper Greg Carpenter defended his allocation of the weight, saying that at the same stage of their careers It’s A Dundeel had won four Group 1 races while So You Think had only won one Group 1, albeit the Cox Plate.
“It’s A Dundeel is a four time Group 1 winner during his three-year-old career. He won the Rosehill Guineas by seven lengths from Sacred Falls, which went on to win a Doncaster Handicap and he won the ATC Derby by six lengths,” Carpenter told Racing Network.
“So You Think only won one Group 1 as a three-year-old, but it was a devastating win in the Cox Plate.”
It’s A Dundeel is the highest weighted four year old with Australian Cup winner Super Cool receiving 54.5kg after winning the weight for age Group 1 during the Melbourne Autumn Carnival.
The next weighted four year old is the Chris Waller trained Hawkspur with 53.5kg who will have to rewrite the history books with no Queensland Derby winner ever winning the Melbourne Cup the followwing season.
2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden has been given the topweight of 58.5kg, one kilo more than last year’s winner Green Moon on 57.5kg.
Melbourne Cup favourite Puissance De Lune ($7) has been weighted up to his potential on 54.5kg while Fiorente on the second line of betting at $8 will carry 55kg after running second to Green Moon last year with 53.5kg.
Hawkspur is well in the market at $14 just in front of Green Moon at $17 with It’s A Dundeel at the good odds of $34 following his first Spring Carnival appearance when fourth to Atlantic Jewel in the Group 1 $350,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 31.
