TWO GOOD! Zahra wins back-to-back Melbourne Cups on Without a Fight as three horses pull up lame
Without a Fight completed the rare Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double on Tuesday as star jockey Mark Zahra went back-to-back in the big one after…
With the final acceptances for the Melbourne Cup just around the corner – the final field is due to be released on Saturday, November 4 – it has been confirmed that Qewy will not be participating.
Just as the anticipation was growing, trainer Chris Appleby said Qewy won’t be in the running on November 7.
This may be a bit eyebrow-raising, but it isn’t a complete shock – Qewy was listed as unlikely despite sitting in the top 24 of the 36 horses left after the second declarations were announced.
It comes on the heels of Qewy’s victory in the 2400m Bendigo Cup on Wednesday, holding off Kiwia to secure the win. However, Appleby felt that with the Melbourne Cup only six days later, there simply wasn’t enough recovery time for the horse.
“He knows he’s had a race, and I think the Cup will just come a bit soon for him,” Appleby said.
It makes sense for the trainers to hold Qewy back, but it is still disappointing to see such a strong competitor drop out, with Qewy finishing fourth at last year’s Melbourne Cup. He also secured wins in last year’s Geelong Cup and Sandown Cup in a very successful year.
Appleby added that the plan was for his charge to defend the Sandown Cup title on November 18 instead.
The news changes the outlook for a few other hopefuls heading into the final acceptances. Wall of Fire, who was sitting in a precarious position at 24th, now moves up to 23rd and is guaranteed a spot in the Race that Stops a Nation.
Abbey Marie and Thomas Hobson are now 24th and 25th respectively. Abbey Marie is far from guaranteed a spot though – the winner of the 2500m Lexus Stakes could bump her out of the running.
There is also still the possibility for further shuffling and movement as Gallante, sitting in the 20th spot, was also listed as unlikely.
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