Hucklebuck to step up in $1m feature

Photo / Thinkstock

Hucklebuck hasn't won over a mile or at Group One level but he has an opportunity to deliver on both accounts in the Emirates Stakes.

Trainer Phillip Stokes and owner Thomas Li have decided to give Hucklebuck his chance in today's A$1 million ($1.1 million) race after his win on Victoria Derby day over 1400m.

Hucklebuck opened as Emirates favourite but his place at the top of the market has been taken by Godolphin import Contributer who has firmed from $7 to $5.

The 1600m is the query for Stokes but he believes a good barrier and the prospect of a genuine tempo in the capacity field should give Hucklebuck the chance to settle in the Group One race. Tasmanian front-runner The Cleaner is likely to roll along at a true speed. "He needs all the stars to align and I think he gets that chance on Saturday," Stokes said.

Hucklebuck notched his seventh win from 12 starts with a second-up victory in the Group Three Yellowglen Stakes last Saturday.

He has three stakes wins over 1400m while his two runs at 1600m have netted a second in the 2013 Carbine Club Stakes to Paximadia and an eighth in the Australian Guineas.

Jockey Dom Tourneur was keen for Hucklebuck to get his chance in the Emirates after winning on him last Saturday.

"If he raced genuinely ... I genuinely think he's a miler," Tourneur said.

The Victoria Derby win by Preferment was a milestone for trainer Chris Waller who is much more familiar with the Emirates Stakes.

Waller is two-handed in his pursuit of a third victory in four years in today's 1600m handicap at Flemington. His leading contender, Bull Point, is Group One placed but a win is more than important for his future stud career.

I'm Imposing is one of the outsiders with the nine-year-old to have the services of Damian Lane to help his cause.

Contributer is the early $4.80 Emirates favourite for Godolphin Australia, ahead of Lucky Hussler ($6), Hucklebuck ($6.50), Hooked ($7) and Bull Point ($7.50) while I'm Imposing is at $31.

Emirates Stakes
• Million-dollar 1600m race, final Group One event of the Melbourne Cup carnival.
• Bart Cummings has trained six winners.
• Nikita Beriman (Tears I Cry, $101, 2007) first female jockey to win a Group One race in Victoria.
• Trainer Chris Waller (Bull Point, I'm Imposing) attempting third win in four years.
• Godolphin import Contributer among favourites.
• Hooked trying to be first since Dazzling Duke in 1985 to claim Crystal Mile-Emirates double.
• Outsiders have done well in past 25 years: 12 winners at $15 and over.
• Best barriers: 1 (4 wins) and 9 (3w).
• Best of the outsiders: The Cleaner seems to be over the odds at $15.

- AAP