Finishing an agonizingly-close second in two of his three appearances in Australia’s headline race for thoroughbred racehorses, classy Northern Hemisphere raider Red Cadeaux is aiming to secure more than just a race win in the Melbourne Cup 2014 at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday.
Red Cadeaux will line up for his fourth attempt on the Melbourne Cup tomorrow afternoon. Photo: Taron Clarke
Locking in a fierce sprint battle with Dunaden in the 2011 edition of the Race That Stops a Nation and judged to have finished second in a photo finish, Red Cadeaux was unable to match the late pace of 2012 champion Green Moon when eighth in his second attempt, but again returned to the fore when pushing 2013 champion Fiorente to the limit late.
Confirmed to break the record as the first northern hemisphere runner to line up for four editions of the Melbourne Cup, Red Cadeaux is also eyeing the record for oldest runner to find the line in the clear, registering as the equivalent of an Australian nine-year-old when loading into the barrier for race 7 at Flemington tomorrow.
Thrilled with the form displayed and work produced by the son of Cadeaux Genereux since arriving in Australia this time, trainer Ed Dunlop is proud of the 46-start career Red Cadeaux has produced to date and could think of no better way for the gelding to stamp his name in the history books.
“It would probably be the greatest victory of my training career,” Dunlop told AAP.
“But I think it would mean a huge amount for (owner) Ronny Arculli.
“It was his dream to try to win the Melbourne Cup with Red Cadeaux … I think it would be an amazing, amazing day.
“To be able to bring a horse to run in four Melbourne Cups from Europe, I doubt it will happen again.
“Of course it might do, but it will be a long time before it does.
“Credit goes to the horse for that.”
Finding the line seven times in the clear and figuring in the minors a further 17 times, Red Cadeaux finished a credible fourth in the featured Group 1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) following the 2013 Melbourne Cup and has received an ideal lead in to tomorrow’s feature race.
Running sixth in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup (2000m) in this middle-east before a luckless performance in the Group 1 Tenno Sho (3218m) in Japan during a short campaign at the beginning of the year, Red Cadeaux ran a credible fourth in the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes (2670m) on August 16th before placing seventh in the Group 3 September Stakes (2414m) last time out on September 6th.
Confirmed to leave from barrier 15; the same barrier from which he finished second in 2011, Red Cadeaux offers punters exceptional value for money at $19 odds for success in Melbourne Cup 2014 betting markets with Ladbrokes Australia.
