It’s Bendigo Cup Day and Mitch Lewis has previewed the feature race, which has proven a handy lead-up to the Melbourne Cup in recent years.
Knight’s Choice came through the Bendigo Cup two years ago before winning the Melbourne Cup, while four years ago High Emocean followed the same path to finish third behind Gold Trip.
This year’s edition again features several runners still in contention for a Melbourne Cup start, including Kings Valley, who will be having his third run in 17 days after performing well in both the Caulfield Cup and Moonee Valley Gold Cup.
Mitch Lewis' Preview
Looks one of the more open Bendigo Cups in recent memory and, using last week's Geelong Cup as a key form reference, targeting a pair of runners at decent value.
(8) Litzdeel looked done at the top of the straight last week but found a second wind in the last 200m and ran well through the line for fifth. The Geelong Cup was run at a solid tempo and, looking at her recent ratings, she seems to be stronger late off more moderate tempos, which she is a strong chance to get in this setup. If she gets a race run similar to The Bart Cummings two starts back, she could be set up for a big finish.
(2) The Euphrates was one of the runaway leaders of the Geelong Cup and, given it was run at a fast tempo, he did eventually tire right out of the race. The jockey aboard reported he had issues with a plate, which he may have felt, and he potentially gets a much softer tempo here, which can see him improve in better circumstances. If he can lead at a more moderate tempo, he may prove tough to run down.
(6) Kings Valley is at peak fitness and hitting the line well in recent runs, including Saturday's Moonee Valley Cup, where he produced the fastest closing sectionals of the race and even some of the fastest of the entire meeting. He jumps from a wide barrier but will likely be back in the run anyway, so look for him late with a clear run given how he has finished off in recent runs.
(5) Soulcombe was a long way last at the top of the straight in the Geelong Cup but wheeled off the second-fastest L600m and L400m of the race to run into sixth. It looked a good step forward as he continues to build off a long spell, so he could be capable of winning this if he can get back to his best.
Suggested bet: Backing both Litzdeel and The Euphrates for the same result.
