Sea King emerges as Melbourne Cup favourite after Bendigo Cup win

With his win at Bendigo in the Group 3 Bendigo Cup on Wednesday, Sea King has earned a guaranteed spot in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse next Tuesday.

The six-year-old gelding has yet to win any Group 1 races in his career, but he is now one of the Melbourne Cup betting favourites after his impressive win at Bendigo.

Big win at Bendigo

Sea King entered the Group 3 Bendigo Cup as one of the top three favourites. The betting sites gave him $5.00 odds to win, level with Berkeley Square and Whisky On The Hill.

The six-year-old lived up to his betting odds with a huge win in the Group 3 race.

Sea King looked like the only runner who stood a chance of winning for much of the race. Down the final stretch, he was completely dominant, with no horse even coming close to catching him.

The Harry Eustace-trained gelding finished first, nearly five lengths ahead of co-favourite Berkeley Square in second. Star Vega ($14) finished in a distant third.

Bendigo win reactions

Before Sea King’s Bendigo Cup run, Harry Eustace and his entire team knew what was at stake. Albeit, the trainer admitted that he was surprised to see that his horse was in this position in the first place.

“Curiously, coming down, we never even thought we’d get close,” Eustace said about Sea King’s chances of qualifying for the Melbourne Cup.

Once qualifying became a possibility, though, Eustace and his team were locked in and focused on making it happen for their star gelding.

“Since we’ve been here, the Cup, as everyone is well aware, has really started cutting up,” he said.

“So, the closer we got to getting in the more pressure there was I suppose.”

Sea King lived up to the pressure and delivered a huge win.

“It’s incredibly exciting. A lot was riding on it, it’s the last win-and-you’re-in for the Cup, so it’s an absolute dream result today,” Eustace said after the race.

Melbourne Cup odds slashed

Before the Bendigo Cup, Sea King was a major outsider for the Melbourne Cup. Most betting apps gave the gelding just $51 chances of winning the $8 million race.

After his win at Bendigo, most horse racing betting outlets now give Sea King $11 odds of winning. This puts him in the top four, behind Buckaroo ($5), Onesmoothoperator ($6.50), and Vauban ($7.50).