Western Jewel plunged
Western Jewel has been plunged to upstage her three highly-rated stablemates and give owners Bob and Sandra Peters their fourth Perth Cup victory.
Player fixed-odds betting manager Ben Pomatti yesterday declared Western Jewel the agency's worst result after she was crunched in the past 24 hours from $13 to an $8.50 third favourite for today's 2400m feature at Ascot.
Kincaple is the $4.20 favourite, with Western Jewel's stablemate Tranquility next at $7.50.
"At this stage, 12.5 per cent of the total Perth Cup hold has been placed on Western Jewel," Pomatti said. "As our book is positioned, she currently represents a stand of well in excess of $50,000 of the $250,000 invested."
Western Jewel finished the best of the Peters' three cup runners last January, running fourth, beating home Tranquility (sixth) and Ranger (11th), despite having a luckless passage in the Group 2 race.
Trainer Grant Williams adhered to a traditional stayer's path into the cup for Western Jewel.
Tranquility and Battle Emblem ($15) have come through the Railway Stakes, Kingston Town Classic and Cox Stakes.
The stable's other runner, Moonlight Bay ($16), qualified with her narrow win in the WA St Leger (2100m) on December 17.
A Western Jewel triumph would be a dream cup debut for Bunbury apprentice Kyra Yuill, emulating cup rivals Peter Knuckey (Lopov) and William Pike (Tranquility), who claimed the race as juniors.
Knuckey won on Field Officer in 1993 and Pike was successful on Crown Prosecutor in 2005.
English apprentice Ryan Hill also is chasing the same dream on New Spice, who has been backed from $51 to $19 in the past 48 hours.
Western Jewel topped her cup campaign in style, carrying 57.5kg to a dashing 1 1/2 -length win in last Saturday's ATA Handicap (2200m). She carried 52kg and won the same race by a neck last year.
The daughter of Jeune has 52kg today, the same weight she carried last January.
"She was always set for the cup," Bob Peters said. "She followed the same path as she did last year and she is fit and hard."
Trainer Simon Miller has a good chance with Senhor Da Gama and Lopov. He will be aiming to emulate Lou Luciani by adding the cup to his Karrakatta Plate win with Night War earlier this year.
Luciani won the Karrakatta Plate-Perth Cup double with Redwoldt and King Canute in 2004.
A key to Miller's plan will be if Knuckey can settle Lopov early.
"I tried lots of different gear on him but went back to a cross-over noseband," Miller said. "I think he will settle OK."
Miller said Senhor Da Gama was at his peak for his grand final.
