Racing Odds: Bande A Real Melbourne Cup Prospect
September 26th, 2014 by Pom de TurfIn the list of weights for the 2014 Melbourne Cup that was released last week, it was Japanese stayer Admire Rakti who took the top 58kg weight, and who was the main focus of the media response. And that’s fair enough – Admire Rakti is going to be a real chance in the Melbourne Cup this year. But take a little look at the Racing odds at the other end of that link, and you can see that there’s another Japanese import between Admire Rakti and the early favourite The Offer, a Japanese prospect who looks every bit as good as Admire Rakti and who will be carrying 56.5kg…
Bande might not have a win at the very highest level on his CV yet, but that hasn’t stopped more than a few punters taking a close look at him for the 2014 Melbourne Cup, and there’s one man who has him tipped as a real chance to win it – jockey Christophe Lemaire is the man who’s likely to get the ride on Bande in the race, and he couldn’t be a bigger fan: ‘I think that he has a good chance. I think that he has been given a good weight, he will carry 54k and a half in the Caulfield, and maybe 56 and a half in the Melbourne Cup, so the weight will not be a problem for him and he likes good ground. They (Japanese stayers) are very strong and very tough horses. You can remember the last time the Japanese came for the Melbourne Cup they finished one, two in the race, so when they go over there they go with very high quality horses. Bande has the right profile for Caulfield and Melbourne Cup. He is a horse that likes to go in a good position and he stays very well. He was beaten by very top class horses in Japan and maybe he is just a level below the true Group 1 horses in Japan, but for me he has enough class to do well in the Melbourne Cup and in the Caulfield Cup. I have great expectations with this horse. He likes to be in the front position and he likes to quicken the race very early. He is very strong, very tough and I know it is not easy to do all the way round from start to finish to win the Melbourne Cup, but these kind of horses they like to run like this and they are strong enough to go from start to finish.’
Lemaire is a man who knows the ups and downs of the Melbourne Cup, after a win on Dunaden and a tragic run on Verema last year – is his glowing endorsement enough to get you thinking about Bande in the 2014 race? Check the Racing odds we’ve got for you by following the link!
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