Money pours in for Magnifisio
Punters have tipped into Magnifisio, backing the mare into $2.70 favouritism to beat Luckygray in today's $125,000 Del Basso Smallgoods Roma Cup (1200m) at Belmont Park.
The TAB opened triple Group 1 winner Luckygray a $2.70 favourite on Thursday, with Magnifisio the only other runner under double figures at $2.90 for the Group 3 feature.
So strong was the move, including two bets of $2000 at $2.90, yesterday for Magnifisio that she displaced Luckygray at the head of the market, with 50 per cent of the bets on the Roma Cup invested on the Jim Taylor-trained four-year-old.
The biggest bet on Luckygray was $2000 at $2.70, with another punter yesterday outlaying $1000 at $2.90.
"I was a little surprised," TAB fixed-odds betting manager Ben Pomatti said.
"But our biggest stand is Magnifisio.
"Luckygray is a break-even result at this time.
"That may change by the start of the Roma Cup, but she controls 50 per cent of the bets compared with Luckygray at 30 per cent."
Luckygray has won two Group 1 features since he last raced at Belmont Park in 2012, when he swept the Roma Cup, Belmont Sprint (1400m) and Hyperion Stakes (1600m).
The weight-for-age conditions of today's race suit Luckygray more than Magnifisio, who resumed from a spell earlier this month with a convincing victory in the Listed Northam Stakes (1100m).
Magnifisio should be 6.5kg away from Luckygray instead of 2kg and she has drawn barrier 12, whereas Luckygray has come up with the inside.
It could be a case of deja vu for trainer Trevor Andrews with Luckygray, who has an unblemished record of four starts for four wins at Belmont.
The only other runner with a similar record is Settle Strada, who has won at his five starts over the trip.
Andrews' first Roma Cup winner, No Questions, like Luckygray, was in her second preparation with the Ascot trainer when she won the 2007 cup after coming to him from another stable.
Andrews inherited Luckygray after a campaign with Robert Smerdon in Victoria last spring and lifted the popular gelding to a second Railway Stakes (1600m) at his second start for him.
He has described Luckygray as a much superior galloper at his second preparation and the grey underlined those comments with his slashing two-length barrier trial win over 1000m at Belmont Park earlier this month.
Pomatti said there had been solid support for Elite Belle ($15 to $13) to win first-up, but there was no interest in any of the other nine runners.
