On Wednesday February 23 the latest Group race feature of the 2011 Tasmanian Summer Racing Carnival will take place at Mowbray Racecourse in Launceston with the $225,000 Group 3 AAMI 2011 Launceston Cup (2400m).
The 2011 Launceston Cup has attracted a capacity 16-horse final field plus two emergencies.
Top-rated and weighted Launceston Cup acceptor this year is the Troy Blacker-trained Dream Pedlar winner of the Devonport and Bendigo Cups.
Six-year-old Dream Pedlar is coming off a fifth place finish behind fellow Launceston Cup rival Bid Spotter in the Group 3 AAMI Hobart Cup (2200m) on February 13 and tomorrow will be his final run this season.
The West Quest gelding will be looking to turn the tables on Bid Spotter on Wednesday and return to the form that saw him win the Devonport Cup (1800m) carrying a hefty 61kg on January 5 and the Listed Tasmanian Stakes (1600m) back in December.
Dream Pedlar has drawn barrier 12 for tomorrow’s showdown and has been allocated 59kg with Michael Guthrie in the mount.
The other most notable 2011 Launceston Cup hopefuls are:
- Red Buttons (Michael Kent) – Red Ransom six-year-old enjoyed back-to-back Country Cup wins at Moe and Kyneton in the spring, most recently ran a game fourth in the Hobart Cup after an unlucky run where they struck multiple interference
- Bid Spotter (Graeme Rogerson) – In-form Redoute’s Choice five-year-old from Sydney, won the Hobart Cup here at their Tasmanian debut but has been allocated extra weight and has a much wider barrier eight draw in the Launceston Cup
- Fast Future (Russell Cameron) – Evergreen eight-year-old who enjoyed a nice win over 2000m at Flemington in January before running ninth, beaten 3 ½ lengths, in the Hobart Cup last-start
Other in-form runners likely to get some attention from the punters in the Launceston Cup odds and betting markets at Luxbet are:
- Organised (Ray Worbey) – Commands seven-year-old finished a close second in the Hobart Cup before which they won three on the trot
- Davcon (Heath Conners) – Six-year-old Victorian gelding ran third in the Hobart Cup
- Beven Heights (George Blacker) – Won at the track over 2100m last start on February 17, albeit against lesser rivals
Betting on the Launceston Cup will open at our preferred online bookmaker Luxbet shortly so make sure you have your account open to access the best odds!
2011 Launceston Cup Final Field & Barrier Draw
| # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight (kg) | Hcp. Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DREAM PEDLAR | Troy Blacker | Michael Guthrie | 12 | 59 | 103 |
| 2 | RED BUTTONS | Michael Kent | Brad Rawiller | 10 | 57.5 | 100 |
| 3 | BID SPOTTER | Graeme Rogerson | Michael Rodd | 8 | 56.5 | 98 |
| 4 | FAST FUTURE (NZ) | Russell Cameron | Jamie Mott | 1 | 55.5 | 95 |
| 5 | ABITOFADO (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Darren Gauci | 13 | 54 | 90 |
| 6 | ORGANISED | Ray Worbey | David Pires | 5 | 53.5 | 89 |
| 7 | DAVCON | Heath Conners | Lincoln Coffey | 9 | 53 | 88 |
| 8 | TIBOOBURRA TRAVIS | Leon Wells | Anthony Darmanin | 2 | 53 | 86 |
| 9 | VELOCE CAVALLO | Tammy Mollross | Dean Holland | 14 | 53 | 85 |
| 10 | STREAKY FELLA | Darren Weir | Dean Yendall | 15 | 53 | 84 |
| 11 | GEEGEES BLACKFLASH | John Luttrell | Daniel Ganderton | 4 | 53 | 82 |
| 12 | SKYSTREAMER | Tony Vasil | Jason Maskiell (a) | 7 | 53 | 82 |
| 13 | WHITE YARD | David & Scott Brunton | Dwayne Dunn | 11 | 53 | 80 |
| 14 | BEVEN HEIGHTS | George Blacker | Shuji Amano | 3 | 53 | 78 |
| 15 | TESTASAURUS | Charlie Goggin | Clare Lindop | 18 | 53 | 78 |
| 16 | WALLIS | Larry Dalco | – | 17 | 53 | 75 |
| 17e | OKUMA | Barry Campbell | – | 6 | 53 | 69 |
| 18e | ALGONA AVENUE (NZ) | David & Scott Brunton | – | 16 | 53 | 66 |
