BART CUMMINGS has the chance to win his
13th Melbourne Cup with Precedence.
Bart Cummings and his training partner (and grandson)
James Cummings, have confirmed that their nine-year-old evergreen stayer
Precedence will start in the Moonee Valley Cup on Saturday as the gelding’s main lead in race before the 2014 Melbourne Cup.
Precedence has contested
three Melbourne Cups finishing 8th in 2010, 11th in 2011 and 9th in 2012.
Disappointingly and very controversially, he missed out on making the field in 2013 by just one position in the final 24, which was the cause of much speculation at the time.
To offset that bitter disappointment,
Team Cummings designed a programme to give their horse every opportunity to make the field this year.
Precedence is a two-time Moonee Valley Cup winner in 2010 and 2013 but according to
James Cummings, they feel the horse is “probably a half-length better than he was this time last year.’’
James said, “He loves the Valley and this is a good stepping stone into the
Melbourne Cup’’
“We are pretty enthusiastic about his chances.’’
"We are doing a lot of long work with him and he is having less races. It seems the way to get the best out of him," James said.
"He is doing plenty of laps of Flemington and is coming along really well. The idea is to have him there in the
Melbourne Cup and if that happens
Bart might be there as well."
Precedence is top-weight for the Moonee Valley Cup and could become
the first horse to start in four Melbourne Cups for Bart Cummings if things go to plan.
"He really likes the Valley, and we expect him to be hard to beat," Cummings said.
"We want to run in the
Melbourne Cup and winning there would make sure of it."
Dynamic Syndications wish the best to James and his grandfather - the legendary
CUPS KING - in securing a start in 2014 with
PRECEDENCE in the
MELBOURNE CUP