THIS year's Bendigo Cup in October has been afforded new significance. The cup will be run over 2400 metres this year and next, which makes it a qualifying race for the Melbourne Cup six days later, reports The Age.It says: The date for the Bendigo Cup was shifted last year to the old Werribee Cup date of the Wednesday before the Melbourne Cup, but as the distance was 2200 metres, it failed - by just 100 metres - to be a qualifying race for the Melbourne Cup.Under Melbourne Cup balloting conditi
THIS year's Bendigo Cup in October has been afforded new significance. The cup will be run over 2400 metres this year and next, which makes it a qualifying race for the Melbourne Cup six days later, reports The Age.
It says: The date for the Bendigo Cup was shifted last year to the old Werribee Cup date of the Wednesday before the Melbourne Cup, but as the distance was 2200 metres, it failed - by just 100 metres - to be a qualifying race for the Melbourne Cup.
Under Melbourne Cup balloting conditions, to be qualified for a run, a horse must have won a race of 2300 metres or further with a winner's stake of at least $60,000. While it is highly unlikely the winner of the Bendigo Cup will leap from obscurity to secure a final spot in the Melbourne Cup, it does allow the possibility of an 11th-hour bid, and that can only be good for the club's promotion of the race and for country racing as a whole.
The RVL Board gave the nod for the increase in distance for the next two years. The idea will be given the green light in the future if it is found the distance rise has not adversely affected the Moonee Valley Cup, run four days earlier, or the Lexus Stakes at Flemington, run three days later.