Tomorrow will see the first international entry for the Melbourne Cup Carnival touch-down in Sydney from Singapore, ready to bring a foreign flavour to Australia’s most anticipated race meeting of the year.

Five-year-old mare Jolie’s Shinju, trained by Hideyuki Takaoka, boasts an admirable race record, winning her last four starts including the Group One Singapore Derby (2000m) and the Group One Patron’s Bowl (1400m). The mare has amassed an impressive nine wins and six placings from 19 starts, earning prize money in excess of $1.27 million.

Aiming for a win in the prestigious $3 million Group 1 Tatts Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 24, Jolie’s Shinju is also nominated for the two other major events at the carnival – the $1.55 million Group 1 BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17, and the illustrious $5.65 million Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 3.

There are 11 foreign entries out of 196 nominations for the Cox plate, 18 out of 227 for the Caulfield Cup and 39 from 230 for the Melbourne Cup. Although international entries for the Spring Carnival’s feature races are down on last year, horses like Jolie’s Shinju prove that the quality of the contenders will still top-class.