NOT many racehorse owners get the chance to have a runner in the Melbourne Cup but that will change for five Warrnambool mates next month.
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Warrnambool's Geoff McLaren, Lester Pickett, Phillip Mitchem, Reg Fleming and Peter Walsh are part-owners under the Sunday Knight syndicate in Grand Promenade.
He raced his way into the $8 million Melbourne Cup on November 2 with an impressive win in the Bart Cummings at Flemington last Saturday.
Bookmakers installed Grand Promenade, a $15 chance for the Melbourne Cup following his win in the Bart Cummings, which gave him a ballot exemption into Australia's greatest horse race.
The lightly raced six-year-old, who is trained by Victoria's leading trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, will not have another run before the Melbourne Cup.
McLaren said six months of planning by Maher and Eustace had paid dividends for Grand Promenade.
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"It's a great result to have won the Bart Cummings," McLaren told The Standard.
"It's a big relief to know already Grand Promenade will be in the final field for the Melbourne Cup. Ciaron and Dave will keep him fresh going into the cup.
"Grand Promenade will do a bit of beach work and have a couple of track gallops as a lead into the race."
The five mates have been known to frequent Warrnambool's Mac's Hotel on a Sunday night, hence the syndicate name Sunday Knight.
Walsh said the group had raced a few handy horses over the years including Trust In A Gust and Palentino but nothing measures up to a Melbourne Cup runner.
"We've had a bit of luck with horses like Trust In A Gust and Palentino but there's also been a few slow ones," the Mac's Hotel publican said.
"Having a runner in a Melbourne Cup is every owners dream and we're lucky we're in the field.
"The group just love getting together for a drink on Sunday nights and believe me there'll be a bit of celebrating if we happened to own a cup winner."
From his 19 starts Grand Promenade has won eight races.
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