The 2013 Melbourne Cup form for jockey Chris Munce is getting better as he prepares to ride lightweight chance Dear Demi in the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday.
Can history repeat itself for Chris Munce on Dear Demi in the Melbourne Cup. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Can history repeat itself for Munce who won the 1998 Melbourne Cup on Jezabeel for New Zealand trainer Brian Jenkins with the similarities between her and Dear Demi surprising the Grand Slam winning jockey.
Jenkins rang Munce on Saturday night to wish him good luck and also to remind him of the comparisons between Jezabeel and Dear Demi.
“Brian Jenkins rang me last night and said ‘did you know that Jezabeel was number twenty-two, had sixteen alley and carried 51kgs’,” Munce said.
Munce had to think back recall if it was true as he prepares to ride Dear Demi, saddle cloth number twenty-two with 51kgs and will jump from gate sixteen in the twenty-four horse field.
The only difference was that Jezabeel didn’t run in the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Derby Day and went straight into the Melbourne Cup after running sixth to Taufan’s Melody in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield two and half weeks earlier.
The Clarry Connners trained Dear Demi produced the best Melbourne Cup trial at Flemington on Saturday with an eye catching second to Englsih galloper Side Glance in the Group 1 $1m Longines Mackinnon Stakes (2000m).
Munce was beaming after the Mackinnon with his sights set on Flemington next Tuesday.
“She went really well. I was following Jet Away the whole way, I thought he would be the right one to take me into it, but he was like a shot duck at the top of the straight. I had to go back to the inside, but she finished off race well. It was a good trial for the Cup,” Munce said.
“She drops from 56.5kgs to 51kgs for the Cup which is a big help.”
“The 3200m is a question mark but it is a big question mark for half the field.”
Conners is also looking forward to Tuesdaay after Dear Demi ran so well on Saturday on top of her third in the Group 1 $2.5m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield two weeks ago.
“We wanted Chris to ride her in the Mackinnon to get a bit of an ideal how she goes,” Conners told the Herald Sun.
“He will know what is under him when he has to put the ‘pedal to the metal’ in the Cup.”
Dear Demi’s best win from her six race victories was her success in last year’s Group 1 $1m Crown Oaks (2500m) at Flemington when ridden by Jim Cassidy.
Dear Demi is still at the good odds of $21 in the Melbourne Cup market order which has the Gai Waterhouse trained Fiorente the $7.50 favourite ahead of English stayer Mount Athos at $9.
The next in the betting is the French mare Verema at $12 while Voleuse De Coeurs has drifted to $15 after drawing poorly at twenty-one.
