Sydney galloper Metal Bender is the new Caulfield Cup favorite after his solid effort in theTurnbull Stakes at Flemington. Betstar's Alan Eskander says the 5YO's run was the best run of the beaten brigade behind Zipping. AE adds: 'Metal Bender got a long way back from his wide barrier and Hugh Bowman found himself in a few traffic jams in the straight. He did a great job to finish on the heels of the placegetters and that followed his super run behind So You Think in the Underwood. With 56kgs in
Sydney galloper Metal Bender is the new Caulfield Cup favorite after his solid effort in theTurnbull Stakes at Flemington. Betstar's Alan Eskander says the 5YO's run was the best run of the beaten brigade behind Zipping. AE adds: 'Metal Bender got a long way back from his wide barrier and Hugh Bowman found himself in a few traffic jams in the straight. He did a great job to finish on the heels of the placegetters and that followed his super run behind So You Think in the Underwood. With 56kgs in the Caulfield Cup, he's looking more and more like the one to beat and we've now tightened him from $13 to outright favorite for the Caulfield Cup at $8.'
Like many others, Alan Eskander reckons the Turnbull Stakes will prove a pivotal race for the spring majors. He says: 'Zipping showed he is still a genuine star at the top level and while it's hard to see him beating So You Think in the Cox Plate, he is such a good horse at Moonee Valley that he is sure to be in the finish somewhere.'Zipping's Cox Plate price has been slashed to $11 while he has tightened from $41 to $26 for the Melbourne Cup. Turnbull runner-up Shocking is a solid Melbourne Cup favorite at $7 and Eskander says it's hard to see him being replaced at this stage. He says: 'Shocking is such a good horse at Flemington and he was another one who just got held up slightly on Sunday...He lost no admirers on that run and he is tracking very well for the first Tuesday in November.'
What do punters make of Dariana's below-par Turnbull performance? Alan Eskander is taking little notice of it. He says the 4YO mare remains a key player in Cups betting. 'Dariana drew wide and got a long way back and on the face of it may have been disappointing but I'm not taking any notice of that run. Bart's horse's rarely show up on Turnbull day - my stats people tell me he's had 16 runners on this day in the past four years and only one of them has run a place so we're keeping her safe in betting on both Cups,' says Eskander.
Latest big-race firmers from www.betstar.com.au:
Cox Plate
Wall Street $34.00 - $21.00
Captain Sonador $101.00 - $34.00
Herculian Prince $81.00 - $34.00
C'est La Guerre $101.00 - $51.00
Katie Lee $101.00 - $67.00
Zipping $26.00 - $11.00
Metal Bender $26.00 - $13.00
Caulfield Cup
Herculian Prince $34.00 - $10.00
C'est La Guerre $41.00 - $21.00
Trusting $67.00 - $41.00
Mourayan $81.00 - $41.00
Metal Bender $13.00 - $8.00
Harris Tweed $81.00 - $41.00
Melbourne Cup
Herculian Prince $51.00 - $17.00
C'est La Guerre $41.00 - $26.00
Mourayan $81.00 - $41.00
Keep The Peace $51.00 - $41.00
Zipping $41.00 - $26.00
Metal Bender $51.00 - $21.00
Harris Tweed $67.00 - $34.00
Exceptionally $81.00 - $41.00