The Charlie Appleby trained English stayer Qewy could find himself at Flemington next Tuesday running in his second Melbourne Cup with a win in today’s Group 3 $300,000 Jayco Bendigo Cup (2400m) at Bendigo.
Qewy, above winning the 2016 Geelong Cup, is the favourite for the 2017 Bendigo Cup. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Appleby’s travelling foreman Chris Connett said that Qewy has been in great form on the training track since landing in Australian and is expecting a forward showing from the Street Cry eight year old in the Bendigo Cup.
“Our plan with him is to go forward and let him roll along a little bit and let his stamina come to the fore,” Connett told AAP.
“I think he’s got to go and win nicely to be knocking on the door for a start in the Cup but the way he’s been training we think he can do that.”
Qewy finished fourth in last year’s Melbourne Cup after winning the Group 3 $300,000 Geelong Cup (2400m) at Geelong.
Qewy then went on to win the Listed $150,000 Ladbrokes Sandown Cup (3200m) at Sandown. He has had two runs since in England and finished well back last start when thirteenth in the Group 1 £523,000 Qatar Goodwood Cup Stakes (2 mile) at Goodwood in England on August 1.
The latest order of entry for the Group 1 $6.25m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) has Qewy at number twenty-two which has him in the twenty-four horse field at this stage and an impressive win today could see his odds shorten up from the $51 he is currently listed at Ladbrokes.com.au.
Even though Qewy only has six opponents, Connett said it will still be a tough contest and fears the Darren Weir trained Kiwia as the hardest to beat.
“There’s a horse in there, Kiwia, that won a Group Three really well the other day,” Connett said.
Kerrin McEvoy is back aboard Qewy (barrier 2) in the Bendigo Cup after the pair combined to win the Geelong Cup and the Sandown Cup twelve months ago.
Bendigo Cup betting at Ladbrokes.com.au has Qewy as the $2.40 favourite just ahead of Kiwia at $2.60 while 2017 Group 1 Metropolitan winner Foundry is the third pick at $5.50.
