Cups King Bart Cummings and new training partner, grandson James, are relying on veteran stayer Precedence to represent them in this year’s Group 1 $6.2m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 5.
2012 Melbourne Cup winning jockey Brett Prebble eyeing of this year's Cup. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Precedence, who is one of 135 Melbourne Cup nominations, is the winner of more than $1.2 million dollars in prizemoney from eight wins and will be lining up for his fourth attempt at the famous ‘two miler’ at Flemington.
Bart Cummings holds the record for the number of Melbourne Cup winners, visiting the winner’s stall on twelve occasions and the first Tuesday in November wouldn’t be the same if Precedence failed to make the field and the legendary Cummings name wasn’t beside a Cup runner.
“We better put him in the race then,” James Cummings told The Daily Telegraph.
Precedence hasn’t been seen this Spring to date, but James Cummings said the eight year old is in work in Melbourne and well advanced coming of a Brisbane Winter Carnival campaign.
Cummings will leave the final decision up to the owners if Precedence lines up for another Melbourne Cup after finishing ninth, almost six lengths behind Green Moon and Brett Prebble last year.
Precedence was beaten a similar margin the year before when eleventh to Dunaden and was eighth behind Americain at his first Melbourne Cup attempt in 2010.
Cummings has picked out the Group 2 $250,000 Drake International Cup (2500m), formerly the Moonee Valley Cup, at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day as a likely Melbourne Cup lead up.
“He’s been in work in Melbourne, he’s got a bit of residual fitness from the Queensland carnival. I have seen him and he looks great. I think a really good race for him this carnival could be the Moonee Valley Cup,” James Cummings said.
“It will be up to the owners what they want to do. But he’s been a fantastic horse for the stable, and we want to do the right thing by him.”
Precedence returned to winning form in Brisbane, taking out the Group 3 $125,000 The Channel Seven Premier’s Cup (2200m) at Doomben on May 25 before running ninth to Moriarty in the Group 2 $300,000 Croser Brisbane Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm on June 8.
Precedence has run in most of the nation’s top staying cups with his best win the 2010 Cathay Pacific Airways Cup (Moonee Valley Cup).
The Darren Weir trained Puissance De Lune is the clear cut $5 favourite for the Melbourne Cup in front of last year’s runner-up Fiorente at $10 and European import Sea Moon at $15.
English stayers Brown Panther, Mount Athos and Dandino are at $21 alongside of 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden.
While Precedence is friendless in the betting at $201.
