Last year’s Adelaide Cup runner-up Aurora’s Symphony headlines nominations for Monday week’s $350,000 Group 2 feature at Morphettville.
The Symon Wilde trained galloper was one of 31 nominations for the two mile feature that closed with Racing SA today.
Aurora’s Symphony will be having is third crack at an Adelaide Cup after finishing seventh behind Daqiansweet Junior in 2022 before he was nosed out by Rebel Racer in a gripping finish last year.
The Symon Wilde-trained galloper was beaten into sixth place behind the heavily backed Excelleration in Wednesday’s Launceston Cup, the Richard Cully trained galloper among nominations along with placegetters Alhambra Lad from the Patrick Payne stable and the Jason Warren-trained Grand Pierro.
Jamie Kah is locked in to ride leading South Australian contender The Map for Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray while leading trainer Ciaron Maher has nominated Alakahan and Herman Hesse.
There is New South Wales interest with Richard and Will Freedman nominating Piraeus and Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott entering former European import Yarrawonga and Matthew Smith could have another Adelaide Cup runner with Flambeur.
Lord Reims winner Yellowbrick Road will try and continue the fairytale ride for his young trainer Patrick Kearney while Paul Preusker, who launched Surprise Baby in Melbourne Cup calculations when they won the 2019 Adelaide Cup, has nominated the lightly raced Hot Suspect who comes off a Bendigo placing that followed consecutive impressive Mount Gambier victories.
Dan O’Sullivan, who won the 2008 edition with Lacey Underall with Hall Of Fame jockey Dwayne Dunn in the saddle, has nominated One Last Kiss who was bred and is raced by 2023 Racing SA Hall of Fame inductee David Peacock.
Two-time Cup winning trainer Danny O’Brien has Roaring Engine among nominations coming off a narrow defeat at Moonee Valley behind Rapinoe.
O’Brien won his first Cup in 2005 with Demerger and most recently with King Of Leogrance for leviathan owner Lloyd Williams.
A notable omission from nominations was the Sue Murphy-trained Hasta La War.
The Lord Reims placegetter has again succumbed to injury tracking towards the Adelaide Cup and will miss the feature.
