Foxstar (left) narrowly defeats Vintedge (right) in race 2 at Flemington
Jockey Hugh Bowman scored a minor consolation for losing his Melbourne Cup ride when piloting Sydney galloper Foxstarto victory in the TAB Sportsbet (1700m) at Flemington today.
Bowman had wasted all weekend to ride Mourayan at 53.5kg in today’s Melbourne Cup only to have the horse scratched this morning with a leg worry.
Though Bowman will take no part, he may have set the pattern for the 151st Melbourne Cup.
Foxstar defeated Vintedge narrowly with Influential Miss running on for third and all the horse same down the centre of the track.
It was a similar case in the first race won by Applegate which if correct will see horses track wide in the home straight in the Melbourne Cup, very much in favour of the swoopers,
Bowman settled Foxstar mid-field but couldn’t get into the running line and was posted three wide.
He moved up to put Damien Oliver aboard Vintedge in a pocket at the home turn but his horse resented the bumping and Melbourne way of going.
Vintedge got clear and hit the front but the bigger Foxstar wasn’t having any of it.
In a tight finish, the Guy Walter trained mare stuck her head out to win.
Walter said he may back Foxstar up in the Matriarch Stakes (GROUP 2) 2000m $300,000 at Flemington on Saturday.
“I thought we got beaten,” Walter said.
“She is potentially a nice mare. That was her sixth win in 18 starts.
“I will talk it over with Hughie but we may race her on Saturday again in the Matriarch.”
Asked what Walter likes in the Cup he stuck with Americain.
| Finish | No. | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Weight | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 5 | FOXSTAR(13) | Hugh Bowman | Guy Walter | 54.5 | 1-43.11 |
| 2nd | 3 | VINTEDGE(6) | Damien Oliver | Chris Waller | 56.5 | 0.1L |
| 3rd | 6 | INFLUENTIAL MISS(3) | Steven King | Pat Carey | 53.5 | 2.1L |
| 4th | 1 | FEMINA FASHION(16) | Brenton Avdulla | Trevor Whittington | 58.5 | 2.4L |
| 5th | 11 | COLD STEEL REIN(5) | Stephen Baster | Leon Corstens | 53.0 | 2.5L |
| 6th | 7 | MANILA JEWEL(2) | Danny Nikolic | David Hayes | 53.5 | 3.5L |
| 7th | 8 | APENNINE(4) | Luke Nolen | Mark Jackson | 53.0 | 3.9L |
| 8th | 15 | TANTRUM(1) | Michael Walker | Nigel Blackiston | 53.0 | 4.9L |
| 9th | 2 | SMOULDER(9) | Craig Newitt | Graeme & Mark Sanders | 57.0 | 5.4L |
| 10th | 14 | FINE CALIBRE(15) | Dean Yendall | Aaron Purcell | 53.0 | 7.2L |
| 11th | 16 | YASEY SAN(7) | James Winks | John Pascoe | 53.5 | 7.3L |
| 12th | 12 | YOU I FIND(14) | Kathy O’Hara | Lee & Shannon Hope | 53.0 | 9.0L |
| 13th | 9 | GAIL(12) | Nicholas Hall | Robbie Griffiths | 53.5 | 9.1L |
| 14th | 10 | PARIS MEMORY(10) | Glyn Schofield | Tony McEvoy | 53.5 | 10.1L |
| 15th | 17 | WHO’S READY(8) | Corey Brown | Alan Scorse | 53.0 | 11.1L |
| 16th | 13 | EXCHANGES(11) | Kerrin McEvoy | Anthony Freedman | 53.0 | 11.3L |
| Src | 4 | ROYAL COMMANDS | Dwayne Dunn | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | ||
| Src | 18 | CABASSO | Dean Holland | Russell Cameron | ||
| Src | 19 | ORIENTAL RUBY | Gerard Moloney | |||
| Src | 20 | KIM HEAVEN | Bart Cummings |
