Wheal Leisure wins Inglis Cup at Caulfield

Wheal Leisure
Wheal Leisure, ridden by Dean Yendall, has upset odds-on favourite Hardham to win at Caulfield.

Wheal Leisure has added to a successful past week for trainer Archie Alexander with victory in the $250,000 Inglis Cup at Caulfield.

The mare upset $1.55 favourite Hardham to win Sunday’s 2000m-race by 1-3/4 lengths, bringing up the fourth winner from seven runners in the past five days for the Alexander stable.

Among the winners was Lord Fandango in Friday’s $100,000 Benalla Cup in country Victoria.

“It’s been great and you can’t do it without great owners behind you and great staff,” Alexander said.

“We knew coming into this race she was going well.”

Wheal Leisure ($6) overpowered Hardham in the final 200m of the race restricted to four-year-olds nominated to the Inglis Series, to make it four wins from nine starts.

During her three-year-old season Wheal Leisure contested three Classics, finishing fifth in the Group One Australian Oaks at Randwick and ninth in the Group One South Australian Derby, while earlier in the campaign she was third in the Listed Tasmanian Oaks.

Alexander said Wheal Leisure, who won a benchmark race at Bendigo first-up this preparation, had made physical improvement as a four-year-old.

Wheal Leisure holds nominations for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and Alexander has not ruled out trying to get her qualified.

“I think we should definitely think about it,” he said.

Wheal Leisure has 50kg in both Cups and would likely need to win a ballot exempt race to sneak into either race.

“Whether we want to go that way this year, there’s still other nice races like the Matriarch Stakes,” Alexander said.

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