Puissance De Lune has held his spot at the top of  Melbourne Cup markets after a superb first up effort to dead heat with Budriguez in the Group 2 $220,000 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington today.

Budriguez (inside) and Puissance De Lune (outside) finish in a dead heat in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes. Photo by: Sarah Ebbett

Craig Williams on Budriguez rode a brilliant front running ride and looked like holding off all challengers when Puisaance De Lune was held up in the field, but once Glen Boss was able to get into the clear, the Darren Weir trained grey flashed home to draw level on the line.

Neither jockey knew who had got the head bob in and even the judge took an extraordinary long time before deciding that he was able to split them on the line.

Puissance De Lune was having his first run back after scoring a sensational 5 lengths win in the Spring in the  Group 3 $250,000 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) at Flemington on November 10 which prompted Boss to declare the five year old was a definite Melbourne Cup chance.

Today’s dashing effort has kept Boss’ Melbourne Cup opinion alive and the top jockey is already very excited about this year’s Spring Carnival.

“He’s come back looking identical as what he left. His weight is the same, he’s an athletic colt,” Boss said.

“He just backed up what I thought he could do. He wasn’t expected to do that first up.”

“That’s the least of his distance the he will be competitive in, wait until he gets over a trip.”

Williams accepted the dead heat as a win and praised Budriguez’s toughness down the long Flemington straight.

“I was really happy. It’s a big imposing straight Flemington for front running horses, he stood up to the mark once again,” Williams said.

“The grey horse is the Melbourne Cup favourite so it’s no mean feat going past the line with him.”

The Mike Moroney trained Wall Street showed that there is still some life in his old legs with a gutsy third behind the dead heaters.