An impressive list of Sydney-based jockeys will head to Albury on Friday in quest of their first win in the $170,0000 Commercial Club Albury Gold Cup, reports Racing NSW.
It says: Melbourne Cup winner Kerrin McEvoy, Tye Angland, Brenton Avdulla, Tim Clark and the in-form Sam Clipperton are all hoping to put their name on the Albury Cup honour roll.
Clark will be riding the Gai Waterhouse-trained Queenstown in a bid to add the Albury Cup (2000m) to his Grafton Cup (2350m) win on the mare last July.
Queenstown is well weighted with 55.5kg and will be the only Albury Cup runner carrying weight above the limit of 54kg after Melbourne trainer Peter Moody scratched the 59kg topweight Lidari shortly after the final field was declared on Tuesday.
Left: Jockey Tim Clark will mount Gai Waterhouse-trained Queenstown
Tye Angland continues his association with the Victorian-trained stayer Self Sense while Kerryn McEvoy will be riding the talented Kourkam for his uncle Tony McEvoy.
Self Sense won the Kilmore Cup before he was ridden by Angland when narrowly beaten over 2000m at Randwick on March 7.
He is trained by David Brideoake, the Victorian trainer who land his first Albury Cup with Cape D’Amore in 2009.
Kourkam has shown the potential to win good races in Australia and will be strongly fancied to win the Albury Cup after his last start third in the Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington following a first-up win at Morphettville in Adelaide.
Astute Melbourne trainer Robert Smerdon, already a two-time Albury Cup winner with Hofmeister (2007) and Paddy O’Reilly (2011), has booked Brenton Avdulla to ride the staying import Verdant[ while Sam Clipperton takes the ride on recent Canberra Cup winner Faust for Goulburn trainer Kurt Goldman.
Sydney or Melbourne based jockeys have won seven of the last eight Albury Cups.
Leading Albury trainer Brett Cavanough carries the local hopes with Price Of Glory and will be hoping it is third time lucky as the horse has finished second and fourth in the last two Albury Cups.
Cavanough broke a long drought for local trainers in the Albury Cp when Niblick got the race on protest in 2013.
He has booked Richard Bensley to ride Price Of Glory.