Blue Moon Leads Newcastle Cup Charge

DUAL group 1 winner Blue Moon Rising is the headline act in Friday's Group 3 Newcastle Cup heats (715m) at Ladbrokes Gardens.

Runner-up in the Hunter Valley staying feature last year behind his now retired litter sister Poco Dorado, Blue Moon Rising is poised to start a red hot favourite in the second heat on Friday from his box seven draw.

FRIDAY'S NEWCASTLE CUP FIELDS AND FORM

A courageous fourth in Friday night's Group 1 Bold Trease behind Tornado Tears, Blue Moon Rising begins his Newcastle Cup quest tackling the Luke Azzopardi-trained Mrs. Emgrand from box one.

In superb form, Mrs. Emgrand's most recent appearance was a whisker third behind Tornado Tears and Rajasthan in a thrilling Bold Trease heat at Sandown last Friday week.

Interestingly, the second heat also comprises Blue Moon Rising's younger half-sister Really Unreal, the daughter of Barcia Bale and Chica Destacada a fading fourth behind litter-sister Dreamin' Is Free at Wentworth Park on the weekend.

The first of Friday's cup heats sees Dreamin' Is Free and litter-brother Blue Summer Sky go through their paces, pitted up against powerhouse chaser Just Terms, returning to NSW following her eye-catching third behind Tornado Tears in Friday's Group 1 Bold Trease Final.

With the presence of the Peter Lagogiane-trained Shez Got Soul – runner-up recently in the GRNSW Middle Distance Challenge at Dapto – the opening heat of the $25,000 to-the-winner feature promises to be an absolute cracker.

Another interesting runner in the opening heat is the Mark Moroney-trained Sweet Fire All from box two.

Moroney trained inaugural Newcastle Cup winner Poison Ivory in 2005, upstaging stayer of the time Texas Gold in the distance feature.

With just 11 nominations across Friday's two heats, the first four from both qualifiers will progress through to next week's final.

The Newcastle Cup honour roll boasts some outstanding stayers including the likes of Poco Dorado, Zipping Lad, Lilley Criminal, Dashing Corsair, Miagi and Royal Riddle … just to name a few.