Caulfield Cup winner Boom Time will get another chance to conquer the two mile test when he lines up in the twenty-four horse field in the Group 1 $6.25m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday.
Boom Time, above, is looking to win the Caulfield Cup – Melbourne Cup double. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Boom Time has only been tested over 3200m once for an eleventh to Polarisation on a heavy track in the Group 1 $2m Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick during the 2017 Sydney Autumn Carnival.
But Lindsay Park co-trainer Ben Hayes said that the way he ran through the line when he won the Group 1 $3.15m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 21 indicated that he is ready to prove the Sydney Cup form wrong.
“The only time we’ve tried him at 3200m was in the Sydney Cup and we’ve since found out he doesn’t like going the Sydney way and he didn’t handle the heavy track,” Hayes wrote in the Herald Sun.
“I think if we get him on a dry track over the 3200m, he’s a good chance with a light weight.”
“In the Caulfield Cup he ran through the line and kept going, which tells you he was not knocking up and can definitely go further.”
Boom Time received a 1kg Melbourne Cup penalty for his win in the Caulfield Cup, taking his weight up to 53kg and the former West Australian trained six year old will jump from barrier nine with Caulfield Cup winning jockey Cory Parish in the saddle again.
Betting for the Melbourne Cup at Ladbrokes.com.au has Boom Time marked as a $26 chance in a very wide betting race which has last year’s winner Almandin as the $8 favourite to claim back to back wins in ‘The Race That Stops A Nation’.
The Lindsay Park Team of David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig will also saddle up $34 chance Ventura Storm in the Melbourne Cup.
Glen Boss takes over the reins from the suspended Damien Oliver who was aboard last start for a thirteenth to his stablemate Boom Time in the Caulfield Cup and the three times Melbourne Cup winning jockey is certain to give the European import a perfect ride from barrier six.
Ventura Storm came out of the Caulfield Cup with a minor foot injury but Ben Hayes said that five year old has fully recovered and he is expecting a better showing in the Melbourne Cup.
“Ventura Storm ran well below what we expected in the Caulfield Cup, but he had a genuine excuse because he came out of the race with a bruised foot,” Ben Hayes wrote.
“People might be tempted to sack him on that run, but I wouldn’t.
“He hasn’t missed any work since the Caulfield Cup.”
“We had him in the water walker and freshened him up and now he’s sound as a bell.
“If you forget his last run, and watch when he ran second to Winx in the Turnbull Stakes, then I think he has a genuine chance.
“He beat home Humidor and he’s now second favourite.”
