Time passes by but some dates just stick in our memories. One such race is The Australian Cup. A Gr1 race to be run over 2000m for prize money of $1,500,000. The Flemington Racecourse will host its own Super Saturday on March 10th as well.
The race meeting will include nine races. But the highlight will be the Australian Cup. In 2017, Humidor won the Cup while being ridden by Damian Lane followed by Jameka and Exospheric. 2018 brings us a new set of runners trying to grab the title.
Godolphin’s Hartnell has been trained well and should do well considering the race card. The son of Authorized won the Ladbrokes C.F. Orr Stakes in February but we have to see how he does in this race. Another contender is the Liam Howley trained The Taj Mahal last raced and won under ex-trainer R.L.Hickmott in the Quayclean Zipping Classic a group 2 race defecting Almandin who came in second.
However Almandin had his share of success as well when he won the Japan Racing Association Trophy at Flemington last year. Another horse we talk about is Gailo Chop. He is trained by Darren Weir. He won the Gr2 Peter Young Stakes and the Gr3 Carlyon Cup in February.
| Gate | Horse Name | Age | Origin | Pedigree | Trainer | Owner | Jockey | Race Form |
| 1 | Lord Fandango | 5 | GER | Lord Of England-Fitness(Monsun) | Archie Alexander | Anglo Australian Racing | Jordan Childs | 18 Starts, 5 Wins, 2 Places |
| 2 | Ventura Storm | 5 | IRE | Zoffany-Sarawati(Haafhd) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Middleham Park Racing | Regan Bayliss | 18 Starts, 6 Wins, 2 Places |
| 3 | Homesman | 4 | USA | War Front-My Annette(Red Ransom) | Liam Howley | N C Williams, Mr & Mrs L J Williams & Others | Michael Dee | 8 Starts, 3 Wins, 2 Places |
| 4 | Harlem | 5 | GB | Champs Elysees-Casual(Nayef) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | D A Hayes, Blacktype Racing Syndicate & Others | Michael Walker | 18 Starts, 3 Wins, 2 Places |
| 5 | Single Gaze | 6 | AUS | Not A Single Doubt-Redaluca'S Gaze(Intergaze) | Nick Olive | N Olive, M P Hay, D E Tout, W P Oxford & Others | Ms Kathy O'Hara | 30 Starts, 5 Wins, 8 Places |
| 6 | Hartnell | 7 | GB | Authorized-Debonnaire(Anabaa) | James Cummings | Godolphin | Craig Williams | 39 Starts, 12 Wins, 11 Places |
| 7 | The Taj Mahal | 4 | IRE | Galileo-You'Resothrilling(Storm Cat) | Liam Howley | N C Williams, Mr & Mrs L J Williams & Others | Ben Melham | 19 Starts, 2 Wins, 4 Places |
| 8 | Devise | 5 | NZ | Darci Brahma-Doneze Girl(Volksraad) | Shaune Ritchie | The Oaks Stud | Chad Schofield | 14 Starts, 4 Wins, 3 Places |
| 9 | Supply And Demand | 6 | AUS | Sebring-Demanding(Octagonal) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Henderson Racing & Breeding & Others | Stephen Baster | 20 Starts, 7 Wins, 6 Places |
| 10 | Gailo Chop | 7 | FR | Deportivo-Grenoble(Marignan) | Darren Weir | Oti Racing, J Higgins, Mrs F Archibald & Others | Mark Zahra | 25 Starts, 12 Wins, 2 Places, |
| 11 | Almandin | 8 | GER | Monsun-Anatola(Tiger Hill) | Liam Howley | Gestüt Schlenderhan & Others | Damien Oliver | 18 Starts, 6 Wins, 6 Places |
| 12 | Ambitious | 6 | JPN | Deep Impact-Carnival Song(El Condor Pasa) | Anthony Freedman | Hideko Kondo | Damian Lane | 12 Starts, 5 Wins, 2 Places |
1) Hartnell
2) Gailo Chop
3) The Taj Mahal
By Apurva Chavan, Racing Writer, apurva.chavan@secretariatsworld.com