Bondi Beach goes through his paces at Werribee. Picture: Wayne Ludbey
THIS year’s UBET Adelaide Cup shapes as one of the strongest in recent years after nominations for the staying feature closed on Thursday.
Among the 41 nominations, four ran in last year's Melbourne Cup — Bondi Beach, Assign and Gallante for mega-owner Lloyd Williams and Lindsay Park gelding Almoonqith.
Williams also has nominated Chance To Dance for the $ 400,00 Group 2 Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville on March 13, while Lindsay Park trainers David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig, who won last year’s Cup with Purple Smile, have three entries, 2015 Geelong Cup winner Almoonqith joined by Honey Steel’s Gold and Jileks Spur.
“It’s outstanding and very strong at the top, in particular,” Thoroughbred Racing SA Racing Operations Manager David Thomas said.
“To have four horses that ran in the Melbourne Cup last year is quite exceptional.
“There’s plenty of depth and we’re quite excited by the fact that Lloyd Williams and Robert Hickmott have nominated four horses and are obviously targeting the race.
“If we can get both Bondi Beach and Almoonqith, it’ll be fantastic.”
Almoonqith and Bondi Beach share equal top rating at 107 and are expected to be allotted either 59 or 59.5kg when weights are released on Friday morning.
Of the 15 runners in Saturday’s Lord Reims Stakes at Morphettville, 14 have been nominated for the Adelaide Cup.
UBET on Thursday released their first markets for the Adelaide Cup, with Bondi Beach the clear-cut favourite at $ 4. Stuart Webb’s Irish import Annua Mirabilis is on the next line of betting at $ 8, ahead of Almoonqith at $ 9.
The final Adelaide Cup field will be drawn on Wednesday.
ADELAIDE CUP NOMINATIONS: Almoonqith, Annus Mirabilis, Anuradha, Assign, Bayanova, Bondi Beach, Bullitt County, Cadillac Mountain, Chance To Dance, Chestnut Charlie, Choysa, Coppola, Dandy Gent, Darabad, De Little Engine, Double Bluff, Exalted Lightning, Flying Casino, Gallante, Honey Steel’s Gold, Jileks Spur, Jim’s Journey, Kawabata, Like A Carousel, Lord Van Percy, Mail It In, Master Of Arts, Mighty Maher, Mujadale, Nishiazabu, Not So Lady Like, Oncidium Ruler, Puccini, Renew, Second Bullet, Shampion, Shoreham, Sir Laszlo, Star Zone, Tessabelle, Tunes.
Originally published as Outstanding nominations for Adelaide Cup
Sport | news.com.au — Australia’s #1 news site
