Another guaranteed place in the Melbourne Cup is up for grabs on Thursday in the unlikely setting of New York.
Godolphin are favourites to win the race, and could a change of Victoria Racing Club CEO lead to their team being more amenable to heading down under for the big one in November?
Belmont Gold Cup is One to Watch
Look out for the result of Thursday’s Belmont Gold Cup in New York. Staged at Saratoga this year with Belmont under reconstruction, the Group 2 event over 3200m offers a place in the Melbourne Cup.
As the Melbourne Cup itself goes on tour, so too does one of its famous commentators. Organisers NYRA have flown out Victoria’s Matt Hill to call home the race.
Godolphin are favourites in this event courtesy of Charlie Appleby’s Siskany. That’s the same team that won the Melbourne Cup in 2018 with Cross Counter. Since the invasive veterinary checks came into force however, they have been reluctant to return. That may all change soon.
Siskany is going for back-to-back wins in the Belmont Gold Cup. A true stayer though one with a bit of toe, he remains fresh and at the top of his game as a six-year-old. He’s odds-on to win the race under star man William Buick.
The five-time pattern winner is the rightful market leader, not that his team are taking this lightly. He ran a very solid race in the Dubai Gold Cup at their carnival back in late March. That’s acknowledged by Appleby, who could go beyond a dozen graded stakes winners in New York this weekend.
The horse is reported to be in good form and is expected to go well. Will the English-based Godolphin team be tempted back to Victoria in November? A recent change in the hierarchy may go some way to adding one of theirs to the list of Melbourne Cup runners.
AFL Commercial Chief named VRC CEO
Kylie Rogers has been named as the new CEO of the Victoria Racing Club. She was the former Executive General Manager Customer and Commercial at the AFL.
Rogers worked as one of ten execs under AFL chief exec Andrew Dillon. She worked at the organisation since 2017 and arrives at the VRC at the end of August.
Throughout her seven-year incumbency, Rogers drove various revenue streams for the AFL. They included sales, corporate sponsorship, memberships, ticketing, hospitality and more. We look forward to seeing what she can bring to the Melbourne Cup.
With her appointment, will there be any change in the aforementioned veterinary checks which have stopped so many European contenders from heading to the Melbourne Cup?
Even if she wishes to change the policy, she’ll have vets to fight with but it could be worth it. European horses travel all around the world with no health problems. Can the Cup afford to keep missing out on trainers such as Aidan O’Brien and Charlie Appleby? These are genuinely two of the top handlers in the world.
