Reigning Melbourne Cup winner Americain is set to resume racing in France on Friday, kicking off the campaign connections have designed with the aim of winning back-to-back editions of the world’s richest handicap in the 2011 Melbourne Cup on Tuesday November 1.

The American-bred, French-trained and Australian-owned Dynaformer six-year-old Americain burst onto the Australian horse racing scene last spring winning the Group 3 Geelong Cup (240m) before saluting in the iconic $6 million Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).

After their impressive three length Melbourne Cup win over Maluckyday and third placegetter So You Think, the Alain De Royer Dupre-trained Americain was taken to Sha Tin Racecourse for the $2.5 million Group 1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m).

Finishing third to Mastery in the Hong Kong Vase, the Melbourne Cup winner was then sent for a spell.

Now Americain is set to resume racing in the Listed Prix Right Royal (3500m) at Saint-Cloud on way to another run in the ‘Race That Stops a Nation’.

“Normally (in Australia) they’d step out (first-up) in a 1400 or 1600 metre race and we’re going to find it a little bit strange, but that’s how they train over there,” part-owner Gerry Ryan said of Americain’s first-up assignment.

“We’ve got a little program worked out for him built around coming back here (for the 2011 Melbourne Cup).”

In related news, last year’s Melbourne Cup runner-up Maluckyday is being sent to the paddock with his autumn campaign cut short after the Zabeel four-year-old ran unplaced in the $2.25 million Group 1 The BMW (2400m) at Rosehill last Saturday.

Favourite to win The BMW, Maluckyday could only manage to finish five lengths away seventh behind upset winner Cedarberg.

After their surprise The BMW win, the Pat Carey-trained Cedarberg could be a possible contender in the 2011 Melbourne Cup field come the spring.

“He ran really well in some nice lead up races in the spring. He didn’t quite get to the Cups, but put the writing on the wall that he is going to be a Cups type horse and he really proved that today,” jockey Damien Oliver said of Cedarberg after The BMW.