By Paul Newman
Posted
Sydney trainer Chris Waller will have a lightweight chance in Tuesday's $6m Melbourne Cup after Irish import Kelinni earned a start by winning the Lexus Stakes at Flemington today.
The five-year-old gelding was a $151 chance for the 3200m Cup before the race but his odds tumbled to $26 after winning the 2500m Lexus.
Ridden by Nash Rawiller and starting as a $9.50 chance Kelinni settled further back than usual and outstayed his rivals to win by half a length from the Bart Cummings-trained Dare to Dream with Exceptionally running third.
Geelong Cup winner Gatewood was a $3 favourite for the Lexus but faded to finish sixth. Only Kelinni, as the winner of the Lexus, qualifies from the Group Three race into the Melbourne Cup
Kelinni will carry the lightest Cup weight of 51kg and will wear saddlecloth 24 with Racing Victoria handicapper Greg Carpenter electing not to allocate a weight penalty for the Lexus win.
A jockey is yet to be announced for Kelinni as Rawiller will not make the lightweight but he was impressed with the way the horse found the line at Flemington.
"He showed an excellent turn of foot and I don't think staying (the 3200m) is his problem," Rawiller said.
In other Cup news last year's Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed is out of Tuesday's race after breaking down during trackwork this morning.
The 2010 Mellbourne Cup winner Americain is favourite for Tuesday's race.
Meanwhile Zydeco trained by Anthony Freedman appears the horse to beat in the $1m Victorian Oaks over 2500m at Flemington on Thursday after she was an impressive winner of the Wakeful Stakes (2000m) today.
Topics: horse-racing, sport, flemington-3031, vic, australia, rosehill-2142, nsw
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