Super Cool has the right form for the Melbourne Cup

Super Cool has the right form for the 2013 Melbourne Cup with trainer Mark Kavanagh’s twelve month plan ready to come to fruition at Flemington on Tuesday.

Super Cool beat Fiveandahalfstar in the Australian Cup in the Autumn.

Super Cool, blue cap and blinkers, beat Fiveandahalfstar, green, in the Australian Cup in the Autumn. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.

The Flemington trainer set Super Cool for the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) after the then three year old ran second to Fiveandahalfstar in last year’s Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington.

“The horse was set for the Melbourne Cup straight after last year’s Derby and it certainly confirmed it when he won the Australian Cup in the autumn,” Kavanagh said.

“He has been set especially for this race and we will see what happens on Tuesday.”

Since his brave second to Fiveandahalfstar last November, Super Cool has beaten the Anthony Cummings trainer Derby winner twice in the Autumn with wins in the Group 2 $220,000 BMW Caulfield Autumn Classic (1800m) at Caulfield and the Group 1 $1m Darley Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington which is good early Melbourne Cup form.

Super Cool came up with a midfield barrier and Kavanagh wasn’t too unhappy with gate thirteen.

“At the end of the day you are lucky to get a barrier and lucky to be in the race,” Kavanagh said.

“We were happy to be in the race with 21 (Shocking in 2009) and we are even happier to be in with 13.”

Jockey Corey Brown is back to team up with Kavanagh and the pair are looking to repeat the effort with Super Cool after they walked away with the 2009 Melbourne Cup trophy with the win of Shocking.

Super Cool has been thereabouts during the Spring Carnival except for his run in the Group 1 $500,000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 5 which Kavanagh is willing to forgive.

The Fastnet Rock four year old then came out and ran third to super star stablemate Atlantic Jewel in the Group 1 $400,000 Cathay Pacific Caulfield Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield on October 12 before getting beaten just over three lengths when fifth to Shamus Award in last week’s Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley.

Even though Super Cool has fair form leading into the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday he is still marked down as s $51 chance in the ‘race that stops the nation’.

The Gai Waterhouse trained Fiorente is the favourite at $7.50 ahead of the English galloper Mount Athos at $9 with Caulfield Cup runner-up Dandino also high up in the market order at $12. French mare Verema is hovering around the $13 mark, while Seville has moved to $16 ahead of the Irish St Leger winner Voleuse De Coeurs at $17.

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.