Star Japanese stayer Fame Game has come up with the inside alley drawing barrier one for his 2015 Caulfield Cup bid in Melbourne this Saturday looking to overcome the rails hoodoo in the feature.

Last year’s winning hoop Zac Purton rides Japan’s Fame Game from barrier one in the 2015 Caulfield Cup field this Saturday. Photo: Daniel Costello.

The Yoshitada Munakata-trained son of Heart’s Cry runs in the $3 million Group 1 BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) over the mile and a half on the weekend in his debut down under, but his major aim this spring is the $6.2 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) over more distance next month.

Fame Game leads all-in Melbourne Cup odds and currently pays $8.50 as one of only three single-figure hopes in the current Caulfield Cup betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au who are offering Best Tote or SP + 20% on every single race on the Caulfield Cup Day card!

On paper barrier one looks a blessing, but the inside alley is unlikely to suit the race style of the last start Tenno Sho runner-up whose jockey Zac Purton shoots for back-to-back wins in the classic.

Twelve months ago he partnered another horse from Japan, Admire Rakti (2014) to victory from barrier seven, and he has his work cut out for him staying out of trouble from the fence in the big 18-starter field as Fame Game looks to become the first Caulfield Cup winner from barrier one in over 30 years.

Since 1983 the most successful Caulfield Cup barrier producing five winners, most recently Railings (2005), is nine drawn this Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival by the favourite Mongolian Khan.

A $4.80 chance pre-Caulfield Cup barrier draw, the Murray Baker-trained New Zealand galloper won the Group 1 ATC Derby (2400m) over the same distance in Sydney as a three-year-old in the autumn and is on fire this time in.

He is fourth-up on Saturday getting back up to a distance he’s undefeated over, the Holy Roman Emperor four-year-old to be ridden by his regular hoop Opie Bosson on the back of a close third to Criterion in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) just last Saturday.

If all four Caulfield Cup emergencies fail to gain a start, Mongolian Khan will jump from three closer to the rails in six, which last produced a winner in 2008 with All The Good for Saeed Bin Suroor.

The other top fancies in the Caulfield Cup odds are the John O’Shea-trained Hauraki and Ciaron Maher’s 2014 Crown Oaks winner from last spring Set Square.

ATC Derby runner-up Hauraki gets in on just 53kg and has drawn barrier 14 while Set Square has 16 and 51kg as she looks to become the first mare since Southern Speed (2011) to win.

Four of the past six Caulfield Cup winners jumped from double-digit gates including the French-trained Duanden (2012) who did it from the outside alley (18 of 18) with Craig Williams aboard.

Dunaden is also the last horse to come off a Melbourne Cup victory the previous year and win the Caulfield Cup, a feat the now Kris Lees-trained German expat Protectionist will be out to emulate this year.

He carries the equal 58kg top weight and came up with barrier 12 as he looks to break an 11-month winning drought with Caulfield Cup success on Saturday.

Along with Dunaden, Williams also won the previous year’s Caulfield Cup on Southern Speed and this year the hoop shoots for a third win aboard the other Japanese-trained raider in the mix Hokko Brave (55.5kg) drawn wide in 19 (into 15).

Last year’s winning barrier seven meanwhile was drawn this season by the third emergency Dibayani.

Other key Caulfield Cup barriers include British raider and co-58kg top weight Snow Sky in three for four-time winning jockey Damien Oliver, five for the Ed Dunlop-trained European Trip To Paris who at this stage Sydney-based Tommy Berry is booked to ride and two for last year’s runner-up Rising Romance.

Last year’s Caulfield Cup third placed mare Lucia Valentina is also in the mix again in 2015, but suffered a blow with gate 20 for jockey Dwayne Dunn to overcome.

Also out wide are the likes of the Lee & Anthony Freedman-trained German import Our Ivanhowe (17) who was impressive with a The Bart Cummings second with a hefty 60kg last start and the Chris Waller-trained Turnbull Stakes runner-up on October 4 Royal Descent (22).

See below for the complete Caulfield Cup 2015 barrier draw then head to Ladbrokes.com.au for the updated markets and access to Best Tote or SP + 20% on the classic this Saturday!

2015 Caulfield Cup Barrier Draw

Caulfield Race 7 – 17/10/2015