Red Cardinal has plenty of ground to cover before 2017 Melbourne Cup

Melbourne Cup favourite Red Cardinal still has plenty of ground to cover before arriving in Australia for the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival.

Protectionist, above, won the 2014 Melbourne Cup for the same connections as Red Cardinal. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.

Protectionist, above, won the 2014 Melbourne Cup for the same owners as Red Cardinal. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.

The Andreas Wohler trained Red Cardinal was elevated to the top of the market order at Ladbrokes.com.au after his win at Belmont Park in New York last weekend and is now the $15 favourite for the Group 1 $6m Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 7.

Red Carnival past a crucial qualifying condition for the Melbourne Cup when he won the Group 3 US$400,000 Belmont Gold Cup Invitational Stakes (2 miles) at Belmont Park last Saturday.

Jamie Lovett, a director of Australian Bloodstock who race Red Cardinal, said that the German based five year old still has a lot more travelling to do before landing in Melbourne and heading to the Werribee International Horse Quarantine Centre in the Spring.

“He will have gone to America, back to Europe, over to France, back to Newmarket and then to Werribee,” Lovett told Melbourne radio RSN927.

“There’s so many things that can go wrong.

“They should all be 50-1 to make the race let alone being that tight ($15) in the market.”

Germany’s leading trainer Wohler and Australian Bloodstock teamed up to win the 2014 Melbourne Cup with Protectionist and Lovett said that they will probably follow the same path with Red Cardinal and run in the Group 2 $400,000 Ladbrokes Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) at Caulfield in October on the way to the Cup.

“He’s taken a quantum leap but he’s still got to lift the bar to run in the money in a Melbourne Cup,” Lovett said.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Almandin and this year’s Sydney Cup winner Polarisation are both listed at $26 for the ‘Race That Stops A Nation’ at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.

Early market order for the 2017 Melbourne Cup at Ladbrokes.com.au: $15 Red Cardinal, $17 Admire Deus, Francis Of Assisi, $21 Frontiersman, Venture Storm, $26 Almandin, Beautiful Romance, Big Duke, Bondi Beach, Bonneval, Crocodile Rock, Gingernuts, Humidor, Manatee, Oceanographer, Our Century, Polarisation, Vazirabad, $31 or better the rest.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.