News Article
Victoria Cup Barrier Draw
08 December 2009
Lats year's Victoria Cup winner Melpark Major
Smoken Up was the big winner at Tuesday's barrier draw for Friday night’s $400,000 Group 1 SEW-Eurodrive Victoria Cup.
The Lance Justice-trained-and-driven front-runner landed the coveted inside barrier for Victoria’s premier Grand Circuit mobile event, which for the first time will be run at Melton’s Tabcorp Park.
Gate one is the most successful barrier in recent Victoria Cup history with four wins in the past 13 years, the latest being Melpark Major’s track record-shattering all-the-way win last year at Moonee Valley.
The draw presents the son of Tinted Cloud with his best chance to claim an elusive major win.
A last-start second placegetter in the SEW-Eurodrive Miracle Mile, the gelding also ran second to Robin Hood in the 2007 Victoria Cup, was beaten a lip by Blacks A Fake in a Hunter Cup and ran third in the 2008 Watpac Inter Dominion Final.
Smoken Up wasn’t the only big name to draw well. Last year’s Watpac Inter Dominion and BIG6 Hunter Cup winner Mr Feelgood drew perfectly in two with Australasian prizemoney record-holder Blacks A Fake alongside in three.
In contrast to last year, Melpark Major received an average draw in barrier five, while Miracle Mile winner Monkey King’s quest for a fourth-straight Barastoc Grand Circuit victory received a serious blow when it was allocated gate 13 – outside the back row.
The SEW-Eurodrive Victoria Cup (2240m) is race eight on a bumper 10-race card and will be run at 9.40pm (EDST).
The night’s other Group 1 is the SEW-Eurodrive Bill Collins Trotters Sprint (1720m), for which barriers were also drawn at Tuesday's luncheon.
Sundons Gift’s quest to join Take A Moment as the only winner of the coveted Australian Trotting Grand Prix-Bill Collins double took a hit when he drew barrier 10 – three horses wide on the second row.
Chris Lang’s other leading contender Skyvalley fared much better and is poised to start a short-priced favourite after landing gate three.
The other big name, Kiwi visitor Springbank Richard, drew alongside Sundons Gift in barrier nine, while defending champion Will Trapper drew horribly in gate 12.
