This year’s Melbourne Cup has been subject to an influx of international horses with 28 of the 42 horses still nominated for the Cup, bred or trained overseas.
New Zealand is leading the pack with seven horses aiming for the Melbourne Cup and a total of twenty New Zealand-bred racehorses on the list including 2007 Cup winner Efficient.
After yesterday’s third declarations were released, Daffodil, Harris Tweed, Spin Around, Gallions Reach, Capecover, Six O’Clock News and Hoorang were still in contention for the Melbourne Cup.
The country’s two best contenders are Daffodil and Harris Tweed which are both in the field on the Cup order of entry whereas Gallions Reach and Capecover are just outside the final field of 24.
Richard Yill’s Gallions Reach is currently ranked 25th whereas as the Alexander Fieldes trained Capecover is two behind at 27th.
Both horses are expected to run in Wednesday’s 2200m Bendigo Cup in a last minute attempt to determine whether they stand a chance in the $5.5 million race.
Six O’Clock News and Hoorang are both far down the order of entry ranked as 32nd and 33rd respectively however both horses will be lined up for the 2500m Lexus Quality this Saturday.
As the winner of the Lexus Quality is exempt from ballot for the Melbourne Cup, both horses will be putting up a fight to make it to the finish line first.
There are currently five UK horses still in the running for the Melbourne Cup including Ian Williams’ Munsef and the Luca Cumani-trained Basaltico and Cima De Triomphe.
However after a disappointing run in the Caulfield Cup, it is likely that Cima De Triomphe will forgo the Cup and run in Saturday’s Mackinnon Stakes instead.
Godolphin still has Crime Scene and Kirklees entered in the Cup and it seems that jockey Frankie Dettori is likely to ride Kirklees and Kerrin McEvoy will ride Crime Scene.
In other news, David Hayes’ imported stayer Changingoftheguard is a confirmed contender in the Melbourne Cup after showing immediate improvement since bursting an abscess which could have prevented the Irish horse from racing in the event.
Back on the track this morning with jockey Glen Boss, the four year-old is showing no signs of discomfort with Hayes stating that the foot will not be a factor in next Tuesday’s race.
After a meeting with the horse’s owners yesterday, Hayes stated it is likely that Changingoftheguard will be balloted out of Saturday’s Mackinnon Stakes and therefore the horse will now focus on the Melbourne Cup for which he is 10th in line for a start.
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