Hopewell Rock gets massive JP McManus shout for Melbourne Cup
Hopewell Rock and Ryan Moore winning The Highclere Castle Gin Summer Handicap
JP McManus has handed a half million vote of confidence to Hopewell Rock in Tuesday's Lexus Melbourne Cup.
McManus goes against his own runners in the iconic race - Trustyourinstinct and last year’s runner-up Goodie Two Shoes.
Having secured his first Breeders’ Cup winner on Friday, trainer George Boughey now switches his attention to Melbourne.
Hopewell Rock was a beaten favourite at Royal Ascot but won at Glorious Goodwood before just being touched off in the Ebor. The horse he beat at Goodwood, Joseph O’Brien’s Small Fry, was subsequently second in the Geelong Cup to Point Of Law, the favourite for this.
At the annual Call Of the Card function ahead of Tuesday's race, McManus revealed his backing for Hopewell - he stands to win around €5m.
“We thought he had the best chance and we thought the odds were generous,” McManus told Racing.com in Australia.
McManus also had around €150,000 on Joseph O’Brien’s James J Braddock.
“He was 20/1 or 21/1, which sounded more than fair. There’s a drop of rain out there which I don’t think will inconvenience him. I thought he was maybe a bit over the odds.
Speaking about the event, McManus added: “It’s something different, I think we can learn from it but I don’t know if anything like this will ever happen in Britain or Ireland, but it certainly adds to the occasion and creates a lot of excitement. It’s a lot of publicity and I only wish they’d do it elsewhere."
Boughey has already landed three Group Ones this season with the now-retired Bow Echo, including the 2000 Guineas, to go with top-level successes for Survie and Libertango in America.
Hopewell Rock is owned by Wathnan Racing and their racing adviser Richard Brown said: “He’s travelled very well and George’s team down there are very happy with him, he went down there in great nick.
“He’s got a great attitude and is a really likeable horse and he’s just got the right temperament for travelling.
“He’s in right at the bottom and of course it’s a race where you need a lot of luck, but I think it will be really exciting. I think he has a lot of the attributes you’ll need to win a race like the Melbourne Cup.
“Hopefully he is going there with a live shout and Zac Lloyd will ride him who we saw over here in the summer.”
Agencies
