Trainer Michael Moroney does not have much in his favour with Voleuse De Coeurs for Saturday’s Sydney Cup at Randwick.
He wants a dry track, and it’s raining. He wanted an inside barrier and drew 16. And he realises with 58 kilograms she will have to set a weight-carrying record for a mare in the race.
The five-year-old won last year’s Irish St Leger before being sold to Eliza Park and heading to Australia for the Melbourne Cup, where she finished midfield. ‘‘She is weighted up to her best with the weights going up two kilos,’’ Moroney said. ‘‘It could be said that helps her because she is closer to the horses on the limit than she should be but, over two miles, weight is a big factor, especially on a wet track.
‘‘These conditions are really not her go but we planned to have three runs in the autumn to get her acclimatised to our seasons, so we will be there.
‘‘I know she will run the trip but the worst run she has had for me was on the heavy track in the BMW, so we are a bit concerned about the track.’’
Voleuse De Coeurs will have to carry 2 kilograms more than Makybe Diva did when she won the Sydney Cup in 2004 with 55.5kg after her first Melbourne Cup.
‘‘She is definitely weighted up to her best and I don’t think too many mares would have carried that in a Sydney Cup,’’ Moroney said.
The Offer remains favourite for the Cup after drawing in the middle of the field. He has 55kg after getting a kilogram penalty for winning the Manion Cup last month. However, he escaped an extra impost for his easy Chairman’s Handicap victory last Saturday as it was penalty-free.
The spread of weights will be a major talking point, as it has been in all the handicaps through the carnival, with weights being raised in the Coolmore Classic and Doncaster, leaving horses on the limit at a disadvantage.
ATC Australian Derby runner-up Tupac Amaru will carry 54kg in the Sydney Cup, which looks harsh when compared with the last three-year-old to win the Cup, the great Tie The Knot, which carried 50.5kg after winning the Rosehill Guineas and being runner-up in the Derby.
Meanwhile, Randwick track manager Nevesh Ramdhani said the second day of The Championships would be run on a slow track at best with the rail moved out four metres. ‘‘The track is very wet underneath and the best we can hope for is a slow surface by Saturday,’’ Ramdhani said. ‘‘The rain is forecasted for the next 24 hours but after that, the forecast is for breezy and clearing sunning weather, which will improve track quickly.’’
