The Perth Carnival’s unluckiest horse Ranger has been withdrawn from the $400,000 Group 2 Perth Cup (2400m) run on New Years’s Eve.
The Grant Williams-trained top weight was considered too disappointing in the C B Cox Stakes where he started the $1.80 favourite and finished third to God Has Spoken.
The withdrawal has forced a reshuffle of both weights and betting.
The final acceptors for the Cup are on Tuesday with Perth Racing Chief Handicapper David Hunter ready to up weights.
“If God Has Spoken accepts on Tuesday he will be our new top weight with 57kg,” Hunter said.
“Kincaple and Battle Emblem will go to 56kgs, Mega Steel will carry 55.5kgs, Whipsaw 54kg, New Spice 53.5kg, Veracious, Elusive King and Tranquility will carry 52.5kg and the remainder of the field are on the minimum weight of 52kg.”
Ranger was sitting on the fourth line in Cup betting after being one time favourite.
His summer started to fall apart when he was severely hampered in the infamous Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot when sixth to protest winner Luckygray.
The summer for the son of Testa Rossa never improved.
He finished powerfully when second to Playing God in the Group 1 Kingston Town (1800m) at Ascot.
He was locked away on the fence and only gained a clear run when the race was virtually decided.
He never looked the winner in the C B Cox Stakes (2100m) at Ascot on December 17.
Once again he made ground to finish third.
Ranger was to step up to 2400m for the Perth Cup.
Based on his most recent run and breeding, he would have struggled to run it out strongly.
West Australian fixed price betting firm Players have reshuffled the market and it reads as follows.
PERTH CUP 2400m – December 31.
- $3.40 Kincaple
- $5.50 Tranquility
- $7.50 Elusive King
- $9 God Has Spoken, Battle Emblem
- $11 Dancing On The Wind
- $13 Moonlight Bay
- $14 Senhor Da Gama
- $17 Veracious, Lopov
