Midas Touch Establishes Himself As Genuine Melbourne
Cup Candidate After Oz Switch
Not many would have predicted
that Midas Touch would be a potential winner of Australia’s most famous
race, the Melbourne Cup when winning the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby
Trial over ten furlongs at Leopardstown in May 2010.
However, since parting company
leaving the Aidan O’Brien stable in Ireland to be
trained by Robert Hickmott in Australia, there are many who are
of the opinion that he was purchased by the very perceptive and well
known owner, Lloyd Williams, with the aim of winning the "Race that
stops a Nation".
By Australian standards, Midas
Touch is lightly raced but was considered good enough to contest the
biggest prizes in Britain and Ireland as a three year old last year,
including both the English and Irish Derby and the English St Leger as
well as the Prix l'Arc de Triomphe.
Whilst not a prolific winner,
this son of Galileo has always been consistent, finishing in the top
three of his 13 career starts to date. Furthermore, his second place
behind Arctic Cosmos in the English St Leger over 1m6f 12 months ago at
Doncaster proved that he is a genuine stayer with genuine talent and the
2 mile trip around Flemington should not be a problem.
It is not necessarily class that
will win a Melbourne Cup but such has become the status of the race in
recent years, that top rated International stayers are trying their luck
on a much more frequent scale. Lloyd Williams has realised this and that
sooner or later horses bred in Europe could eventually dominate the
Melbourne Cup, which is precisely why he has begun importing talent from
the Northern Hemisphere.
What is particularly encouraging
for Midas Touch is that he has adjusted quickly to Australian conditions
and seems to relish life Down Under. His first two starts in Australia
were hardly designed to test his ability as they were raced over six and
seven furlongs respectively. However, a huge improvement came about when
he went over a mile in the Group Two Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington
three weeks ago when he finished a close up third.
Two weeks later he finished third again, just 1½ lengths behind
new Melbourne Cup favourite, Lion Tamer, this time in the Group One
Underwood Stakes, this time over 9 furlongs at Caulfield.
These last two performances
shave alerted Bookmakers that Midas Touch is possibly being "laid out"
to win the race and his odds have been dramatically reduced to 16/1 in
the Melbourne Cup
betting which makes him the third favourite, behind Lion Tamer and
December Draw to win.