The futures betting for the Melbourne Cup this year has been dominated by the grey Puissance De Lune who is trading as 5-1 favourite. His position as outright market leader could come under threat this weekend as Sea Moon makes his long awaited debut in Australia.
European fans will be very familiar with Sea Moon who was trained by Sir Michael Stoute until finishing down the field in the Arc last season. He first made the headlines when bolting up in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York. He went into that race on the back of a victory in a handicap off a mark of 92. After being held up by Richard Hughes, he cruised through to lead over a furlong from home still hard on the steel. When Hughes pressed the button, Sea Moon stretched clear to win by eight lengths from Al Kazeem.
It would be foolish to take that form literally as Al Kazeem is clearly a much improved performer this season. He slammed last year’s Derby winner Camelot in Ireland before winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Coral Eclipse at Sandown park. Not surprisingly, Sea Moon was a short priced favourite for the St Leger but could only stay on into third place behind Masked Marvel after meeting with interference. Connections were understandably disappointed but he proved that running to be all wrong when running at the Breeders’ Cup.
Although proving no match for St Nicholas Abbey, he ran on well to finish second, beaten just over 2 lengths. He had to work hard to hold off Dandino at Goodwood on his first start as a four-year-old but was back to his brilliant best when winning at Royal Ascot. His victory in the Hardwicke Stakes reads like a “Who’s who” of recent Melbourne Cup races. He beat Dunaden and Red Cadeaux by three and a half lengths and three-quarters of a length. Jakkalberry was fifth, Fiorente was sixth and My Quest For Peace finished tenth.
He went on to finish a close fifth in the King George at Ascot before struggling in the heavy ground in the Arc. His official rating in the UK was 124. Puissance de Lune has been simply awesome and the variety of distances that the top Australian horses are asked to race over is quite astonishing compared to their European competitors. The grey won over 13 furlongs last season and was last seen winning over seven furlongs in August. This weekend’s race is just short of a mile, a distance half a mile short of anything tackled by Sea Moon since 2011.
Puissance de Lune will be making his debut at Group 1 level and will meet his rivals on weight-for-age terms. Masked Marvel is also making his Australian debut but his victory in the Leger (2937m) suggests he will be struggling for pace. The field also includes the Anthony Freedman-trained Waldpark who finished half a length second to leading Arc hope Novellist on his last start in Germany.
One horse that will not be inconvenienced by the trip is former Henry Cecil-trained Jet Away. The six-year-old has won the Golden Mile (1600m) and Group 3 Easter Cup (2000m) since arriving from England. 2012 Australian Derby winner Ethiopia and three-time Group 1 winner Manighar are also in the line-up.
The bookmakers are showing Puissance de Lune at $1.70 for Saturday’s race. He has fitness on his side but Sea Moon ($8.00) and Jet Away ($13.00) are serious opponents. If they are fit enough to do themselves justice on Saturday we could see a major shake-up in the futures market for Flemington.
Sea Moon $8.00 Sportsbet
Jet Away $13.00 Sportsbet
