The horse on a mission to deliver Bart Cummings a fairytale 13th Melbourne Cup is set to begin his quest in the Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick.
Precedence, already a four-time veteran of Australia’s most famous race, is one of 22 entries for the Group Two race over 1600 metres at Randwick on Saturday.
Precedence, Craig Williams – Photo by Sharon Chapman
The 10-year-old will be among the nominations announced on Tuesday for the Melbourne Cup which Cummings won a record 12 times.
The master trainer died in the early hours of Sunday morning aged 87 and his grandson James will continue the legacy at the Randwick stables.
Precedence’s best performance so far in the Cup is his sixth last year and although he hasn’t won a Group One race, he has won almost $2 million prize money.
Among his Chelmsford opposition could be last year’s Cup winner Protectionist who proved his fitness with a recent barrier trial win, his first appearance since being injured in the Sydney Cup in April.
Trained by German Andreas Wohler to win the Cup, Protectionist is now with Kris Lees at Newcastle and is also nominated for the Tramway Stakes (1400m) on Saturday.
Sydney’s premier trainer Chris Waller is likely to have the biggest influence on the Chelmsford with 12 entries headed by last-start Warwick Stakes winner Royal Descent.
The mare is one of 14 Group One winners entered with the Warwick Stakes her first victory since the 2013 Australian Oaks.
“She has come back better this time than she was in the autumn,” Waller said.
“She seems much stronger and has trained on well since the Warwick Stakes.”
Waller has entered Flamingo Star and Strawberry Boy in the Tramway and has Heart Testa in the feature sprint, the Group Three Concorde Stakes (1000m), and Vanbrugh in the Ming Dynasty Quality, named for the Bart Cummings-trained dual Caulfield Cup winner.
