TRAINER Graeme Bate will have two starters in the group 1 Schweppes Melbourne Cup after Velocette and Amity Bale won their respective heats at Sandown Park last Thursday night.
The enigmatic Velocette jumped brilliantly from box three in the opening heat, leading all the way to hold out Queen Lauryn to win in 29.70 seconds.
Amity Bale was no less impressive. Jumping from box six, Amity Bale was checked by Hybrid Theory and shuffled back to second last. Amity Bale swept around the field to settle midfield down the back before railing strongly on the home turn to defeat Hybrid Theory by 1 lengths in 30.03 seconds.
The final of Australia's richest race became a Bate family affair after Kendale Bale, trained by daughter-in-law Kylie Hunt, won the second heat.
Kendale Bale began well from box four but was beaten for early pace by recent group 1 Topgun winner El Galo.
Kendale Bale dropped back to fourth down the back as Jason Thompson's five-time group race winner opened a sizeable gap on the field.
But Kendale Bale rallied, reeling in the tiring leader to win by two lengths in 30.00 seconds.
Thompson's disappointment was short-lived after Hanify's Impact won her heat.
After winning the group 2 Shepparton Cup at her last start, Hanify's Impact began brilliantly in her Sandown Park debut, leading all the way to defeat the fast-finishing Sweet About Me.
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