Deserved ... Moudre has earnt a Caulfield Cup start. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
THE oldest Caulfield Cup field in the race's 134-year history will line up on Saturday, after eight-year-old veteran Alcopop and seven-year-old Moudre were yesterday granted spots in the field.
A total of 23 horses were paid up at final acceptance time yesterday morning and that was reduced to a field of 18 plus four emergencies by mid-afternoon, with the 2010 Melbourne Cup runner-up Maluckyday being deleted from the race as he was the only non-qualified acceptor.
Few could argue that Alcopop and Moudre did not deserve their spots in the race, as both have been placed in feature weight-for-age races over the past month, but their inclusion by the Melbourne Racing Club committee above the equally ranked four-year-old Sabrage means the average age of the 18 runners is the highest ever at 6.33 years.
That figure is staggering when considering that over the 134 years since the Caulfield Cup was first run, more than 75 per cent of the race's winners were aged five or less.
Saturday's race contains just one four-year-old, Zabeelionaire, while at the other end of the scale, there are five eight-year-olds. Four-year-olds, with 46 victories, have won the race more than any other age group, while eight-year-olds have won the race just five times.
Two imported horses were the big shorteners in Caulfield Cup betting yesterday. Last year's Melbourne Cup winner, Dunaden, firmed into $7.50 with the TAB after his sizzling gallop on Monday, while Gatewood has leapt on to the boards at $9 after he was made the second emergency. Sabrage is first emergency.
Gatewood was the luckless runner in last Saturday's Herbert Power Stakes, but even if he is to gain a Caulfield Cup start, his owners are wary of backing him up within seven days with a view to having him in peak order for the Melbourne Cup.
Although dumped from the spring ride on last year's Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed, Adelaide jockey Clare Lindop was happy to take the mare through her paces at Caulfield yesterday morning in the absence of Saturday's new race rider, Nash Rawiller.
Lindop has been overlooked for the ride on Southern Speed in major races in Melbourne and Sydney since last year, when she was replaced first by Danny Nikolic, then Craig Williams, who had the ride when she won the cup.
Although Williams partnered her to victory in the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington last month, he got off the mare to ride Green Moon in the Turnbull Stakes. Glen Boss took over but he too sacked the mare after she flopped in the Turnbull.
Connections again bypassed Lindop to engage Rawiller.
Lindop said after she galloped Southern Speed on the course proper yesterday, working home the last 600 metres in 37.75 seconds and the final 400m in 23.50, that she'd gladly take the ride in the Caulfield Cup. ''I'm really happy with the way she galloped this morning. I'd be happy to ride her on Saturday,'' she said.
Meanwhile, the news just kept getting better for Russell Cameron on Monday morning.
First, his hopes of winning today's group 1 Thousand Guineas were strengthened after his filly, Lady Of Harrods, drew barrier three.
Then, just an hour later, the Flemington trainer was told an early withdrawal from the classic meant his filly had moved into barrier two, a position that Cameron is confident the filly can exploit.
Lady Of Harrods, who has produced two strong wins at her past two starts, will today be on trial at 1600m, a distance the youngster will find her greatest test.
Cameron, who won the Thousand Guineas in 2000 with All Time High, agrees that the term ''you're only three once'' is the reason Lady Of Harrods is at Caulfield today.
''These classics don't come along every day,'' he said. ''She's very, very good, but the burning question is: will she cope with the final 200m of the Guineas? I couldn't be happier with her condition.''
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