The 2013 Cox Plate best bet according to Channel Seven’s racing expert Simon Marshall is Darren Weir’s giant grey Puissance De Lune.
Puissance De Lune galloping at Moonee Valley in his Cox Plate lead up. Photo by Race Horse Photos Australia.
Puissance De Lune has always been near the top of the betting for the Group 1 $3m Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley and is currently at the good odds of $5.50.
Even though the imported grey has drifted slightly over night, he is still at excellent each way odds for the Weight-For-Age Championship of Australasia.
Marshall has stuck with the favourite It’s A Dundeel ($4.60) for second and has thrown in last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon ($14) for third.
Puissance De Lune has been knocking on the door for his initial Group 1 win with two photo finish seconds from his last three starts.
After winning the Group 2 $220,000 Back To Caulfield P.B. Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on August 17, Puissance De Lune went down to Foreteller by a nose in the Group 1 $350,000 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 7.
At his next run the six year old was always well back in a slowly run race when seventh to It’s A Dundeel in the Group 1 $400,000 Hyland Race Colours Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on September 21.
Then Puissance De Lune was hailed the winner before Happy Trails burst through to grab him on the line in the Group 1 $500,000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 5.
The only hiccup in the Shamardal stallion’s 2013 Cox Plate preparation has been the need to find a substitute jockey after regular rider Glen Boss received a twelve meeting careless riding suspension for an incident in last week’s Group 1 $2.5m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield.
Ben Melham was called in to replace Boss and is hoping he gets the same result as when he substituted for the suspended Luke Nolen on the all-conquering Black Caviar before she took out her first Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington, her ninth win in her incredible career that saw her undefeated from twenty-five starts.
Trainer Darren Weir is very happy with Puissance De Lune’s Cox Plate preparation and the six year old is ready to produce his best at Moonee Valley.
“The Cox Plate and then on to the Melbourne Cup has been the plan all along and we are confident that we have him in the right order,” Weir told Racing Ahead.
“He has had a great preparation, he is a really fit horse and everything has worked out quite well.
“He has had a lot of work and we have been able to get a lot of work into him as well.
“I’m sure that if he gets a good run from a reasonable gate he is going to be somewhere about them and if he doesn’t measure up it won’t be because of fitness.”
