Owner Lloyd Williams has revealed that imported stayer Sea Moon will go straight into the 2014 Melbourne Cup after he runs in the Group 3 The Bart Cummings (2520m) at Flemington tomorrow.
Sea Moon was the first horse across the line in the 2013 The Bart Cummings, but he was stripped on the race on protest. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Sea Moon has had just one race start since he finished a disappointing 13th in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) last year, finishing at the tail of the field in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) during the 2014 Melbourne Festival Of Racing, and Williams told Racing Ahead that he has elected to give the Beat Hollow entire an Northern Hemisphere style preparation during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival.
Williams said that Sea Moon has now fully acclimatised to Australian racing conditions and he currently rates the six-year-old as his leading chance for the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 4.
“He is in good order,” Williams said.
“People are a bit confused that he is first-up at 2500 metres, but it is not unusual for an English horse like this.
“I think that he is a lot better than he was 12 months ago, he has taken 12 months to acclimatise and I thought that we would give him more of a traditional English program.
“He will probably have this race and go straight into the Melbourne Cup.
“The cupboard is quiet light for our Melbourne Cup horses, we put a lot of horses aside, and Sea Moon is the hope of the stable.
“We will see how he runs tomorrow, but from everything he is showing us at home we are very happy with him.”
Sea Moon will carry the top weight of 60 kilograms in The Bart Cummings and is set to face stiff competition in the form of last start winner Who Shot Thebarman, but Williams is expecting a strong performance from the imported galloper in his only lead-up run to the Melbourne Cup.
“He will strip pretty fit tomorrow,” Williams said.
Who Shot Thebarman is obviously in very good form and he is getting two and a half kilos from him so he is the logical pick in the race, but I think that he will run well tomorrow Sea Moon.
“I certainly hope that he runs well because he is the sort of horse that I would like to see going towards the 3200 metres in four weeks’ time.”
Sea Moon is currently available at The Bart Cummings odds of $4.40, while he is priced at Melbourne Cup odds of $34 with Ladbrokes Australia.
