Glamour mare More Joyous has scared off all but five rivals in Saturday’s Golden Pendant and given her prohibitive odds, most punters as well.
Sydney’s best mare has opened at an almost unbackable $1.04 in TAB’s fixed odds market for the Group Three 1400m race.
Colorado Claire is the nearest in betting at $15.
More Joyous will use the Rosehill feature as another step towards her Cox Plate goal and if she wins as expected, she will take her already remarkable record to 21 victories from 28 starts.
Her Gai Waterhouse-trained stablemate Fat Al is also odds-on for his Epsom Handicap lead-up in the Group Two Shannon Stakes (1500m).
Among the seven rivals trying to upstage him will be Darci Be Good, the $11 third pick.
His trainer Bede Murray has shouldered some of the blame for Darci Be Good’s Cameron Handicap performance and he won’t be making the same mistake twice.
The respected horseman said he erred by not talking tactics with Corey Brown when he rode Darci Be Good for the first time in the Cameron at Newcastle where the gelding finished seventh, beaten less than three lengths.
With Brown jumping aboard Rolling Pin in the Shannon, Tommy Berry will ride Darci Be Good for the first time and Murray will be ensuring he makes himself clear.
“They went slow (at Newcastle) and Corey hadn’t been on the horse before,” Murray said.
“I actually thought after they’d gone around to the barriers, `I should have told him if the pace was slow to ride him a bit closer’.
“He gave him a great run just off the pace but the way the race was run it didn’t suit him.
“He’s a bit of a grinder rather than a horse with a sprint.
“It depends on the pace of the race but if it’s not truly run he can be closer to the speed and I’ll make sure I give Tommy the right instructions.”
The Cameron was Darci Be Good’s second run this campaign and followed a sound fifth to Tagus in the Tramway Handicap on September 8.
The winner of the Group Three Spring Stakes 12 months ago and runner-up in the Group One Spring Champion, Darci Be Good didn’t manage to reach the same heights in the autumn.
He was gelded after finishing down the track in the Australian Derby and Murray said the procedure had helped turn his attitude around.
Darci Be Good is still in the mix for the Epsom Handicap pending his performance on Saturday.
