Dominant Ellerslie win gives Megablast Melbourne Cup nomination
TALENTED winter gelding Megablast has secured itself at least a nomination into the 2017 Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
The Nigel Tiley-trained stayer showed its ability when running second on an unsuited track at Moonee Valley earlier this year, but back on heavy ground it showed rivals a clean pair of heels at Ellerslie on Saturday.
Jockey Michael Coleman gave the six-year-old time to find its feet before coming inside race leader Admiral around the turn and it was all over from that point.
“It was a beautiful ride, couldn’t fault it really,” Coleman quipped. “He’s a classy horse and handles those conditions well.
“Even with 60kg he trotting at the 600m.”
Megablast scored an emphatic win at Ellerslie before going to Melbourne and despite the travel, it was able to replicate that dominance in the Bridges Insurance Open Handicap on Saturday.
“He won by nine lengths here last time with 57kg, so I thought he’d get home with 60kg,” Coleman said.
“The races he’s won, the places he’s run in the big races over the summer time – Avondale Cup, Auckland Cup, he’s a class above them.”
Coleman is weary of it running on dry ground, having never won from five starts on a good track.
“He just needs that ping out of the ground. He just found those tracks in Melbourne too firm,” he said.
The win was good enough to secure a nomination into the 2017 Melbourne Cup and it’s not the worst chance if the track is wet.
“We’ll take him to Sydney, we’ll run in the Kingston Town and then we’ll reassess it from there,” Tiley said.
“I’ll nominate him for the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, then we’ll nominate for The Metropolitan, but you never know… get a wet spring in Melbourne and you just never know.
“He’s a quality horse and is hard to beat.”
Ellerslie Race 4 result
1st: Megablast – $2.40
2nd: Admiral – $3
3rd: Brilliant Shine – NTD
Quinella – $6
Trifecta – $54
First Four – $220.10