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OTI Racing have four outside chances in tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup 2014 field including John Gosden’s UK raider Gatewood, but will the galloper’s outstanding form back home hold up when he returns to Australian racing?
It was a disaster day for the Terry Henderson and Simon O’Donnell Australian ownership syndication OTI on Saturday with horror gates being drawn for three of their four chances in this year’s $6.2 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m).
The best drawn of the four was the Peter Moody-trained Lidari in 10 with Ben Melham to ride.
After that it was all out near the car park with the fellow Moody-trained Brambles (21), French visitor Au Revoir (23) and William Buick’s mount Gatewood in 22.
Gatewood will come into 21 for Melbourne Cup Day following the early scratching of Sea Mon (18), which is actually one of the most successful Melbourne Cup barriers in the past 30 years with the last winner form the gate being Shocking (2009).
Galileo seven-year-old Gatewood is looking to be the first of that age to win since Makybe Diva with her third in 2005 and contests his first Melbourne Cup this year.
Back in 2012 he was here for the race and looked on track with a Geelong Cup win second-up before failing to make the field when sixth to Kelinni in the Lexus Stakes on Derby Day.
He stayed on down under for an autumn bid with Chris Waller, who has three Melbourne Cup runners this year, but was very disappointing on the Sydney tracks running sixth or worse in all four of his runs that campaign.
Connections sent him home and Gatewood has thrived since, especially this preparation producing six straight top two performances.
He was last seen running second to Cocktail Queen in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville Lucien Barriere (2500M) on August 31 carrying 58.5kg and will appreciate the drop back to 55kg on Saturday with Buick staying on.
While OTI are yet to win a Melbourne Cup despite their strong hand of international imports in recent years, managing part-owner Henderson had a majority share of the 1995 Lee Freedman-trained Melbourne Cup winner Doriemus under the Pacers Australia Syndicate banner.
With OTI he came devastatingly close back in 2008 when Bauer was nosed out of the win by Bart Cummings’ 12th and most recent winner, Viewed.
So can Gatewood atone and get the job done in a major Melbourne Cup upset this year?
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