The 2014 Eagle Farm Cupis set to be run with a small field; with only seven horses included in the nominations for the Group 2 event that will be held at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Akzar will be chasing his maiden win at Group level in the 2014 Eagle Farm Cup. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
The Eagle Farm Cup is considered one of the key lead-up races to the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) that will be held at Eagle Farm on July 7, but the fields for the race have been extremely small in recent years; with the race failing to draw over eight runners since Triple Honour defeated 15 other horses to win the race in 2010.
While the race will feature well short of a capacity field, it could still prove to be an intriguing contest and four runners from the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m) on May 17 are set to back-up in the $250,000 race on Saturday.
Headlining the likely 2014 Eagle Farm Cup field is Darren Weir-trained Akzar, who finished a credible fourth when making his debut at Group 1 level in the Doomben Cup.
Akzar was settled towards the tail of the field and was blocked for a run in the straight, but made up significant ground late and will be suited by the step-up to 2200 metres in the Eagle Farm Cup.
Chris Waller-trained Moriarty worked home fairly to finish fifth in the Doomben Cup and is set to step-up to 2200 metres for the first time since he finished tenth in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival.
The Clodovil gelding finished fourth behind Quintessential in this race last year before taking out the Group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) a week later and is expected to follow the same path this year.
Floria received a lovely run into the Doomben Cup, but failed to show the acceleration of the placegetters and finished sixth, while Mr O’Ceirin tired in the final stages of the race to finish seventh.
Darley mare Wistful did not contest the Doomben Cup, but is a chance of stepping up to 2200 metres for the first time in her racing career in the Eagle Farm Cup.
Wistful finished a strong second behind Doomben Cup runner-up Leebaz in the Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) on May 3 and was only denied a maiden win at Group level by Angel Of Mercy in the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1615m) at Doomben last Saturday.
New Zealand Group 1 winner Historian beat home just a single runner in the Lord Mayor’s Cup, but is a chance of backing up in the Eagle Farm Cup this weekend, while fellow Kiwi Perfect Start has been included in the nominations for the race after finishing fifth behind Zephyron in the Group 3 Premier’s Cup (2200m).
