3 days Ago By Craig Kerry
Newcastle Jockey Club chief Duane Dowell believes the quality of nominations will make up for a drop in entries for the group 3 Newcastle Gold Cup (2300m) on Friday. Login or signup to continue reading Nominations were extended for the $300,000 cup on Monday after only 12 entries were received for the 16-capacity field. While cup numbers were down, the $250,000 group 3 Cameron Handicap (1500m) and Tibbie Stakes (1400m) had solid nominations of 21 and 17 respectively.
Dominant last-start CTC Cup (2400m) Randwick winner Redstone Well, from the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald yarn, opened as TAB's $3.50 Newcastle Cup favourite. Touristic (Peter Snowden) was next at $4.
50, followed by Duke De Sessa (Ciaron Maher) and Etna Rosso (Chris Waller) at $6. Kris Lees-trained Luncies, second in the Wyong Cup, was the top local chance at $8. "I think the quality is there," Dowell said.
"It's funny how this evolves year on year. Last year we had 16 starters and four emergencies. The year before we had only seven but that was the year Durston won before going on to win the Caulfield Cup.
"It's probably going to be one of those years where it's light on numbers but looking at the nominations, you would think the placegetters are going to be prominent in the Metropolitan and later down in Melbourne. "They will all be good races, whether there are eight or 14 in them. There's enough depth so they are going to be good betting races.
" This year the Cameron Handicap will carry Big Dance eligibility, making it a more attractive option. Here To Shock, from the Hayes yard, was favourite at $4.50 ahead of Maher's Chorlton Lane, St Lawrence ($6), Berkshire Shadow ($8) and Nugget ($9).
Mona Lisa Stakes winner Terra Mater ($3.80) was the Tibbie Stakes top elect. The NJC spring carnival also takes in Saturday's Ladies day program.
Dowell said "ticket sales for cup day have been really good. Much better than last year. Last year Saturday had more pre-sales but this year Friday has.
"There seems to be a real interest in cup day, which is excellent." Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald. Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
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