Deane Lester has Wall Of Fire on top of his 2017 Melbourne Cup tips and the leading form analyst believes the European stayer is an ideal horse for the Melbourne Cup.
Wall Of Fire chased home Lord Fandango in the Ladbrokes Herbert Power Stakes. Photo by: Ultimate Racing Photos
Wall Of Fire has not recorded a race win since he took out the Ladbrokes Mallard Stakes in September last year, but he stamped himself as a genuine Melbourne Cup contender with his second place finishes in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury and the Ladbrokes Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield.
Lester believes that Wall Of Fire has the turn-of-foot that is required to win the Melbourne Cup and is confident that the Hugo Palmer-trained galloper will be able to finish over the top of his rivals late.
“He is a great style of horse for the Melbourne Cup,” Lester told RSN.
“He has speed, he has a really good turn-of-foot and he can sustain a long run.
“He will be in the back six early, but he will just keep making a run and as long as he can get on the back of the right ones he will be very strong late.
“He is not a very big horse, so the big weights he has been carrying in Europe and in his run here he will really appreciate being back to 53 kilos tomorrow.
“I think he will be really hard to beat.”
Lester is confident that the internationals will be very tough to beat in the 2017 Melbourne Cup and wouldn’t be surprised if the foreign raiders filled the trifecta.
The form expert was most impressed with the performance of Marmelo in the Caulfield Cup, while he thinks Rekindling could be the first international to win the Melbourne Cup without a lead-up run in Australia since Vintage Crop in 1993.
“Marmelo was the best run in the Caulfield Cup and he was ridden to run well in the Caulfield Cup with the view to the two mile of the Melbourne Cup,” Lester said.
“Everything is spot-on for him to run well.
“If there is a horse that can win the Melbourne Cup without having a run in Australia it is Rekindling.
“He is a young stayer, he has a light weight and a good draw.
“He has improved with every run this time in and I can see him running very well.”
Marmelo is currently available at 2017 Melbourne Cup odds of $7.50 and he is now a clear favourite from Almandin at $9.50, Johannes Vermeer at $10, Humidor at $10, Wall Of Fire at $12 and Rekindling at $14.
