The race that stops the nation is just days away as the Melbourne Cup looms on the horizon.
There’s plenty still up in the air before Saturday’s all-important barrier draw.
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Roughie ‘Amade’ wins 2023 Geelong Cup | 01:20
KAH LANDS DARK HORSE MELBOURNE CUP RIDE
– Glenn McFarlane
Jamie Kah has committed to riding More Felons in next Tuesday’s $8m Melbourne Cup.
The Chris Waller-trained import ran a slashing fifth, beaten just over half a length, in last week’s Geelong Cup, leaving the camp confident the five-year-old will relish the extra trip at Flemington next week.
Prominent owner Richard Pegum said the horse he bought partly as a birthday present for his business partner Paul Henry is the best he has sourced from overseas, and is delighted that Kah will take the ride on the $26 chance.
Kah will gallop the horse at Flemington on Thursday.
“Jamie is a great jockey, she has proven that over time,” Pegum said.
“It would be great to see another female jockey win the Melbourne Cup.
“If she wins this race, it’s going to be pretty big.
“She is booked to ride (More Felons). Her manager Lachie (Weekley) is a good mate of mine and I’ve spoken to Charlie (Duckworth, Waller’s assistant trainer).
“I’m really happy for Jamie to ride the horse.”
Kah was initially committed to being aboard First Immortal in the Cup, but that horse has been sent to the spelling paddock after finishing behind More Felons at Geelong.
She rode Valiant King in the Caulfield Cup, finishing sixth. Valiant King is not certain to back-up in the Melbourne Cup, given the horse is still only four and has a huge upside next year.
It is understood Kah was told if she wanted to look for a guaranteed Cup ride this year she needed another lightweight option.
More Felons will carry 50.5kg in the Melbourne Cup.
Michael Dee rode More Felons at Geelong, but he will ride Cleveland in the Melbourne Cup.
It comes as Melbourne Cup hero Michelle Payne – who won the race on Prince Of Penzance in 2015 – has backed Kah to turn her fortunes around at Flemington after a tough start to the spring.
Pegum couldn’t be more pleased with the way the well-bred son of Churchill is heading into the Cup, having bypassed the need to run in the Archer Stakes when elevated to 23rd in the order of entry.
“I think this is the best horse I have brought over,” Pegum said.
“It was a leaders’ track the other day and nothing (else) came down the outside. It was quite a slow lane. He only got beaten half a length, so I thought it was very impressive.
“The distance (3200m) won’t be a problem. I think he is a top five chance.”
Pegum is chasing a second Melbourne Cup, having been a senior part-owner of Brew, who won the 2000 edition of the race.
But this time he intends to be on track, not half a world away watching on television.
“I was in the Sloane Club by myself,” he said of his Cup experience when Brew won 23 years ago.
“It was 3.40am in the morning and when they hit the 800m, I could see the horse was flying.
“I enjoyed myself, but there was a bit of frustration that I wasn’t there.
“I won’t miss this one. I will have my sons Xavier and Charles there.”
Pegum has enjoyed good success in bringing English and Irish horses to Australia and hopes the decision to purchase More Felons – who was known as Scriptwriter in the UK – might be his best yet.
“I buy a lot of horses from overseas,” he said.
“My business partner Paul Henry was about to have his 50th birthday party at Royal Ascot, and he said to me: ‘Can you find a horse for us?’
“So we found this horse called Scriptwriter. We had to change the name because there was already a Scriptwriter over here. Paul owns a business in Brisbane and they have a brewery called Felons, so he wanted to call the horse More Felons.
“I’ve got a bunch of very old friends in the horse.”
This article was originally published at Punters.com.au and was republished with permission.
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