KEY POINTS:
It would have been a great story - Wanganui freezing worker takes on world's greatest trainer in the Melbourne Cup. And it almost happened.
The freezing worker, Alexander Fieldes, whose stable boasts three horses, came agonisingly close to getting his pride and joy Capecover into tomorrow's A$5.5 million Cup.
Capecover had two chances of making the Cup field on Saturday.
If he won the Saab Quality (2500m) at Flemington, he would have gained an exemption from the Cup ballot, giving him an automatic place in the field.
And if he failed, his owners had the option of paying the final acceptance payment of A$45,000 and hoping that the attrition rate among other hopefuls was enough to sneak into the field.
Bad luck denied him on the first front.
When jockey Craig Williams angled him off the rails early in the run home, he spied a gap between runners, but as he urged Capecover into it the gap closed.
He was left behind a wall of horses and opted to go for a rails run.
He charged home, but had too much ground to make up on Moatize and Light Vision.
Moatize won, giving Bart Cummings, 11-time winner of the Melbourne Cup, a second runner in the big race.
"It's a shame he's not in the first-placed stall and running on Tuesday," Williams told NZPA.
"If he didn't lose his run at the top of the straight and his momentum, I believe he surely would have won."
Capecover's owners, headed by Kevin Myers, then decided to pay the final acceptance fee.
Again it was a close-run thing.
Capecover was 26th in the order of entry among those left and the Victoria Racing Club chose not to exercise its discretion to make changes to that order.
So Fieldes missed out on his chance to take on Aidan O'Brien, widely touted as the world's best trainer, by two spots on the ballot.
"It would have been great, but he's still only a young horse and there is always next year. He is still learning how to do everything right in his races."
Fieldes said his options with the horse were now the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington on Saturday or the Sandown Classic on November 15.
He said the latter was the most likely.
The former Trackside broadcaster looked the part in the birdcage, with Williams giving him a favourable mention for his Trilby hat.
"It cost me $19," said a proud Fieldes, later revealing his partner told him he looked like legendary Sydney trainer Tommy Smith in the 1950s.
Cummings will now have two runners in the Cup with Moatize joining Viewed after his narrow win.
A confident Cummings had already booked lightweight jockey Clare Lindop for Moatize with the 4-year-old to carry 50kg after chief handicapper Greg Carpenter said he would not receive a penalty for the half-head win over Light Vision.
"We got in the Cup, it's marvellous," Cummings said. "He's only had about nine runs and placed in most of them and been unlucky.
"The extra distance and the big track was right up his alley today and I think the two miles (3200m) will suit him even better."
He has won the Cup a record 11 times and Moatize's win pushed Red Lord, trained by his son Anthony, down the order of entry.
However it was bad news for David Hayes who is now without a runner following after Largo Lad's fourth in the Saab.
- NZPA
