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Geelong next stop for Hasta La War

South East star Hasta La War will be chasing a vital Melbourne Cup penalty when he tackles Wednesday’s $400,000 Geelong Cup (2400m).

The Sue Murphy-trainer trained stayer, who was placed in the Group 2 Herbert Power last time out, has drawn perfectly in barrier five and is marked a $6.50 second favourite with tab.com.au behind Tralee Rose ($2.60).

But he could find himself favourite with Tralee Rose trainer Symon Wilde weighing up whether the mare, who started favourite in the Adelaide Cup in March, takes her place.

“Originally, we thought we’d have to run to guarantee a (Melbourne Cup) start,’’ Wilde said.

“But the attrition rate is probably a bit higher than we thought and it’s looking more and more likely she’ll gain a start without having to win the Geelong Cup.

“We’re just trying to work out if it’s the best thing to do by the horse,’’ he said.

A Geelong Cup win won’t guarantee Hasta La War a start in the race that stops a nation, with the gelding currently 45th on the Melbourne Cup Order of Entry.

Despite this, the Geelong feature is a proven form line.

The last two winners – Steel Prince and Prince Of Arran – both received a 1kg penalty for winning the feature, Runaway 1.5 kg in 2018, while Americain and Dunaden are the most recent Geelong Cup winners to claim Melbourne Cup glory.

Prince Of Arran was placed in 2019 Melbourne Cup.

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