3 minute read

Feature racing in Melbourne this week heads down to the peninsula for Mornington Cup Day.

The Cup itself is a strong-looking affair. Six of the top seven are Group winners and the other, First Immortal, was favourite in the Easter Cup last time. 

Early markets forgive and make up, setting him atop the betting once again. He went to Caulfield second-up off a slow race and that may make him one to excuse but the betting does much of the excusing for us and he is easy enough to pass over at this stage. 

Future History finished a place ahead of him, as he had in the Bart Cummings, and did so in the same scenario. Given that, he is more appealing at twice the price but we can find something even more alluring right between that pair in the form book.

Gear Up has had eight spins in Austraila now but still looks a horse that we are yet to really see the best of and it may be that he is a tricky one to set straight. He was a Group winner at his second start and a Group One winner at his fourth, so talented from day one, but despite that his form mixed thereafter for both Mark Johnston and then Joseph O'Brien for who he showed that peak talent but in snatches. 

It has been much of the same since joining Annabel Neasham down under. A couple of good ones and twice as many shockers so far but one thing that leaps off the page when assessing him is that he has found himself in extremely slow races. 

He was able to win off a slow pace two back but has looked slow in races either side which have not been slowly run so much as they have been ridiculous. 

Last time he travelled well, as he might given the tempo, but was left standing late on in a race where the winner broke 34 for the last 600m - hardly the sort of test that Gear Up is after and Deny Knowledge this time just about assures us a true race.

The knock on this theory is that his one good pace in Australia came in this very race last year and he threw up a poor one but that is easily forgiven at 16-1 and bigger - the same price he jumped last year. 

We put up the nice prices about his stablemate Galeron when he resumed but we were left to play with our place money and now there is certainly no 22-1 on offer... 

But all the juice is not yet squeezed at $4.50 and we did get to learn something. Galeron has indeed come back in the right sort of form to make light work of his generous handicap and the third horse coming out and winning the feature last week added some confidence to the fresh figure. 

There may be more depth this time but it would be a surprise if more was required to win the race than what Galeron showed himself capable of producing last time and the extra trip may even bring about improvement on his best ratings to date which will make his price good shopping. 

THE MELBOURNE MAIL 

Bet Of The Day: Race 4 #3 Galeron @ $4.40 

Each Way Play: Race 8 #3 Gear Up @ $17.00