INMAN VALLEY - Next Tuesday at 2.30pm people of the Fleurieu will stop, glued to television screens, to catch a glimpse of local star and Melbourne Cup joint favourite, Alcopop, battling to win the race that stops a nation.
As of yesterday, the five year old son of 1994 Melbourne Cup winner Jeune is a $6.50 chance to win, along with 2007 winner Efficient and last year’s conqueror, Viewed.
Alcopop has not raced since he stunned the field in the group two Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield on October 10 and part owner and trainer Jake Stephens of Inman Valley thinks that is the ideal lead up to the Cup run.
“It has been great for the horse not to race since the last run, it has freshened him up for Tuesday,” Stephens said.
“It would have been a big mistake to run him in the Caulfield Cup or Cox Plate.”
On Tuesday, Alcopop hit the beach at Goolwa for a light gallop and looked every inch a Cup favourite.
“I was really happy with the run (on Tuesday morning), he pulled all the way, he is pretty keen, which is great news,” Mr Stephens said.
Mr Stephens is relaxed and says he is feeling no pressure going into the $5.5 million race, which puts Alcopop up against the last two Cup winners and master trainer Bart Cummings.
“It’s a real thrill to be here, the way he finished in the Herbert Power was impressive and let’s hope he can do the same at the end of 3200 metres,” Mr Stephens said.
“People come up and say ‘wow you’re favourite’ which is nice but it doesn’t really matter to me but it’s good to get that recognition that he is a good racehorse.”
The only scare to go through the camp this week was when jockey Dom Tourneur fell and was lucky to escape serious injury at Mount Gambier on Sunday.
“I didn’t see it, I only heard about it when I saw my phone Sunday night and it had about 20 messages on it,” he said.
“There were a lot of jockeys who rang and asked ‘just in case’ but Dom is ok, he only sprained an ankle, he will be riding the horse.”
Mr Stephens says there is a special relationship with Tourneur and Alcopop, proving a winning formula.
“Dom keeps him well balanced and calm so I suppose there is a special bond between them.”
Mr Stephens said that a few dollars from everyday investors could be a smart move come next Tuesday afternoon.
“For sure, I’m pretty keen, hopefully we can match the quality of horse like Viewed, Efficient and even Vigor if he gets in the field.
“I’m confident he will run a good race.”
Dreams of winning haven’t even entered into Stephens’ mind, and he is solely focussed on the job at hand.
“I’m sure it would be great for the locals and a great story that a country horse can go all the way and win the biggest race in Australia.
“It would give a lot of people hope, but, I'm on a steep learning curve, I reckon you never stop learning as a trainer, being favourite or not.
“I bet you even Bart Cummings would tell you that.”
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter