Topweight Alandi will not appear in the 2010 Melbourne Cup after it was announced that the six-year-old horse would be returned to Ireland on the heels of two poor performances on Australian shores.
The son of Galileo was purchased by owner Lloyd Williams with the purpose of pursuing this year’s Melbourne Cup, though the horse put up two very disappointing runs since arriving in the country in May. He ran 13th out of 14 in the Straight Six (1200m), narrowly finishing ahead of stable mate Mourayan. This was followed up with an equally disappointing run in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) in early September. He finished 16th out of 16 runners.
The lacklustre performances seem out of character for Alandi who has achieved Group 1 success in Ireland and France. He was listed second to Sans Frontieres on the 2010 Melbourne Cup order of entry, but will now be returned to original trainer John Oxx in Ireland who will prepare him for the Ascot Gold Cup in June.
Alandi was listed at $101 odds at Sportsbet to win $6 million event.
The exit of the topweight competitor has left this year’s Melbourne Cup weights in question. Of the top 20-weighted horses, only three are likely to remain in contention: Shocking (57kg), Metal Bender (56kg), and Mr Medici (55kg). The Melbourne Racing Club is now depending heavily on last year’s winner Shocking. If the Mark Kavanagh-trained horse drops out of Cup contention, the weights will have to be raised.
