Saturday’s Group 3 Lexus Stakes is the last chance for horses to book their place in the line-up for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup. The race carries automatic qualification for the winner and all bar one of the runners still hold an entry in the big race.
Andrew Balding was forced to withdraw Side Glance from the Mackinnon Stakes with an injury but could still pick up a nice prize with Lord Van Percy. The four-year-old made his Australian debut in the Herbert Power Stakes earlier this month when he was a staying-on fifth behind Big Memory.
Kerrin McEvoy had his first ride on the gelding that day and he will have learned a great deal from the race. Lord Van Percy pulled hard early on and then had to switch wide into the home turn to make his run. He never looked like troubling the leaders but was only a length and a quarter behind Protectionist at the line. That horse was all the rage for the Melbourne Cup afterwards.
Big Memory held off Signoff by half a length and most pundits expect the form to be reversed here. That is down to Big Memory’s penalty plus the fact that he made no impression in the Caulfield Cup. To be fair, Tony McEvoy’s runner had a terrible draw that day and will find it much easier to get into a rhythm here.
Lord Van Percy, formerly “Van Percy” but renamed to race in Australia, has always been a decent handicapper in the UK. As a three-year-old he travelled well into his races but didn’t always find as much off the bridle as expected. He has raced in a hood for most of his career but seems more resilient this season, battling on well to beat Havana Cooler for a decent prize at Goodwood.
He followed that with a terrific run in the Ebor Handicap when second to Mutual Regard. The winner is a strong Irish fancy for Tuesday’s Cup and Lord Van Percy could well give the form a boost on Saturday. Lord Van Percy is part-owned by OTI Racing who almost won the Melbourne Cup with Luca Cumani’s Bauer in 2008.
Signoff also ran well in the Group 3 David Jones Cup and was under pressure a long way out in the Herbert Power. I just feel that McEvoy will be able to keep his mount closer to the pace this time and use his turn of foot to good effect.
Another horse familiar to UK racing fans is Caravan Rolls On who used to be in the care of Peter Chapple-Hyam. He won the Group 3 Geelong Cup last week but is still not certain of a place in Tuesday’s field so has one more crack at it on Saturday. Craig Williams has been booked to ride the seven-year-old who will start from barrier one. Shocking achieved the Lexus/Melbourne Cup double in 2009 but it is certainly a tall order.
Lord Van Percy @7-1 Bet365 Non-runner
Caravan Rolls On @9-1 Sportsbet
