Seville is the top pick in the Melbourne Cup field for Team Williams who will have six runners in the famous ‘two miler’ at Flemington Tuesday.
Seville, blue and white, winning the Metropolitan on his way to the Melbourne Cup. Photo by Steve Hart.
Prominent owner Lloyd Williams and his son Nick are looking to win back to back Cups with Green Moon who is also one of Williams’ runners in this year’s Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m).
Team Williams’ other runners in the twenty-four horse Melbourne Cup field are Caulfield Cup winner Fawkner, high class import Sea Moon, Sydney Cup winner Mourayan and English St Leger winner Masked Marvel.
The highlight of Seville’s five Spring Carnival runs was his win in the Group 1 $400,000 McGrath Estate Agents Metropolitan (2400m) at Randwick on October 5 two starts back.
Trainer Robert Hickmott then brought the Galileo six year old back to Melbourne where he ran seventh to Shamus Award , beaten five and a half lengths, in the Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 26.
Nick Williams was happy with the Cox Plate run and is leaning towards Seville as their best chance on Tuesday.
“I think he is the top chance, Seville,” Nick Williams said.
“We all saw what he did in the Turnbull Stakes last year when he got behind Green Moon and should have won the race and this year he has won the Metropolitan, he run fantastically in the Cox Plate, he’s had the perfect preparation.”
“Absolutely every box is ticked with that horse and I’m sure he is going to run a mighty race on Tuesday.”
Seville was one of the early favourites for last year’s Group 1 $2.5m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) after he ran second to eventual Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon in the Group 1 $500,000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 6 but a virus put the end to his 2012 Spring Carnival.
Seville has drawn reasonably at gate nine and will have the services of his Metropolitan winning jockey Hugh Bowman again.
The Melbourne Cup market order has Seville marked as a $17 chance while the Gai Waterhouse trained Fiorente remains the favourite at $7.50 ahead of the English galloper Mount Athos at $9.50.
Caulfield Cup runner-up Dandino is also high up in the market order at $11 with French mare Verema hovering around the $13 mark ahead of the Irish St Leger winner Voleuse De Coeurs at $16.
