Melbourne Cup Odds: Admire Rakti The Equal Of Delta Blues?
October 2nd, 2014 by Pom de TurfThis is an exciting year for the Melbourne Cup, and it could be the start of a resurgence in the fortunes of Japanese horses in the race. It has been a number of years since any sort of serious Japanese presence has been seen in The Race That Stops A Nation, but a look at the Racing odds for the Melbourne Cup and the Caulfield Cup will show you that both Bande and Admire Rakti are going to be key players in the 2014 Melbourne Spring.
And it could just be that Admire Rakti follows in the footsteps of Delta Blues, who won the 2006 Melbourne Cup with compatriot Pop Rocks in his wake. Certainly, the feeling in Japan is that these two are genuine prospects for Cup glory. According to Naohiro Goda, one of Japan’s best-respected Racing commentators: ‘for the past three years or so, because of quarantine restrictions and the outbreak of equine influenza, travel to Australia slowed and then stopped. But I know trainers and owners here in Japan have been watching closely at the sort of horses that were winning your races, even though we didn’t have any starters of our own. Admire Rakti is a good stayer, he’s a very good stayer who has earned the weight level he has received. He is a well-performed galloper but more importantly he’s a stayer with the same abilities Delta Blues had back in 2006. From all accounts both he and Bande have settled in well and at this stage I think there’s a fair gap between Bande and Admire Rakti. They are contrasting stayers. Admire Rakti gets back in the field in the early stages, while Bande is very much on pace. Bande is entitled to be getting weight off Admire Rakti, as his performances are a long way short of Admire Rakti, but he’s a horse of the future. A work in progress.’
‘In Japan, they will watch both of these horses closely, and if they win or even run well, it will be the bit of proof that the Japanese racing community will need to come to Australia in 2015 and onwards. And they will come in their numbers. What people mightn’t appreciate is that Japan has no significant staying races in the last six months of the calendar year. So there is tremendous appeal to look to Australia and think there is $6million up for grabs.’
So there will be a lot resting on the performances of Bande and Admire Rakti in the 2014 Melbourne Spring, but they’re both horses of great quality, and both could easily be going home with more wins on their records. If that happens, then we’re excited to see more Japanese imports making the trip to Australia, and featuring in the Racing odds for big races like the Melbourne Cup and the Caulfield Cup…
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