I’m normally skeptical to put the favourite in Melbourne Cup betting on top, but geez, POINT OF LAW (9) impressed in his Australian race debut and surely, he’ll only present fitter and stronger for the run.

The punters’ pick hasn’t saluted in the great race since Fiorente ($7 in 2013), but this lightly raced Maher import ticks plenty of boxes to break the drought.

The progressive four-year-old Frankel entire charged up the markets with a powerhouse victory in the Ladbrokes Geelong Cup and is now chasing a double not done since Dunaden in 2011.

Drawn wide, he sat outside the frontrunner before giving a beautiful kick on the straight and racing away for a half-length win over Small Fry and showing plenty of guts.

The ratings experts loved the performance, and so did I.

Ethan Brown sticks aboard for his second Melbourne Cup ride following a game third on Middle Earth last year and, even with the penalty, his mount is on lovely 53kg light weight coming back 2kg from that he carried last start.

These younger European’s have a terrific strike-rate in the Melbourne Cup. Think: Rekindling (1st, 2017), Cross Counter (1st, 2018), Il Paradiso (3rd, 2019) and Tiger Moth (2nd, 2020). That’s some serious form to consider.

He’s had the least experience of any of this year’s contenders with Tuesday marking just his sixth career start but he’s on the up-and-up, and what he did back in Europe when King Charles had him was good enough for this.

Ran fourth at Royal Ascot over 2,846 metres and won the Bahrain Trophy (2,615m) at Newmarket, so the class is there.

A few have a little query over him running out the 3200m, but he is bred to get it and has a terrific staying pedigree so I’m not worried.

Wouldn’t want too much rain to fall before Cup Day as he’ll be best on dry ground, but either way, that perfect midfield gate nine draw and all of the above have him on top for mine.

We have eight international raiders in the Cup field for 2026, and one that has flown a little under the radar that can run a good race is HOPEWELL ROCK (15) for British horseman George Boughey who gets his first shot at the race.

Plenty has been said on the Irish visitors, but this New Bay gelding has been targeting the two-mile feature a long time out and will be ready to go when the gates rise.

Beat Small Fry, the subsequent Geelong Cup runner-up, over 2816m at Goodwood back in August carting a huge weight (61kg) to an eye-catching three-quarter length victory to put the Melbourne Cup on his radar.

Went on to finish runner-up in the Ebor at York by a nostril-flare with 60.5kg at his latest on August 22 and that’s a form line we’ve seen stack up beautifully down under over the years.

Considering jockey Callum Rodriguez dropped the whip inside the final furlong in the Ebor, there’s every chance the result could have been reversed, and Hopewell Rock would have collected the ballot free ride into the Melbourne Cup.

Will be absolutely airborne for the flying young Zac Lloyd who himself is in career-best form back to 54.5kg so is right in this weight-wise.

Races fresh off a lengthy let-up so there are a couple of questions around his fitness and acclimatisation, but I think he’ll get the distance and with a previous Aussie start on the CV we likely wouldn’t be getting the double figure odds.

If the rain comes, he’ll be an even better hope.

Definite each-way chance.

TRUSTYOURINSTINCT (18) is the only Cup runner alongside the favourite under $10 for the win currently, but he has eased out somewhat to around $8 so there’s still value.

Barrier 18 didn’t do his Melbourne Cup odds any favours, but with one of the best in the business James McDonald booked for the ride I don’t think we need to stress over the starting position too much.

Verry Elleegant broke the barrier 18 hoodoo with her 2021 victory and guess who rode her? J-Mac of course! I do love a little omen form fact like that.

What else do I love? The quality of racing this guy has done back home.

The Churchill gelding was terrific carting 62kg to a commanding last-to-first Group 2 Curragh Cup victory over 2816m back in July and was last seen running fourth with merit in the Group 1 Irish St Leger over the same distance in mid-September behind the very good galloper Scandinavia.

One of the few proven two-milers lining-up on Tuesday and is more than capable of carrying his 57kg allocation.

He’ll get back from the gate and, as we saw in the Curragh Cup, he’s got the blistering turn of foot to close any gap.

Both of O’Brien’s previous Melbourne Cup winners O’Brien’s Melbourne Cup winners – Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020) – also won the Curragh Cup their respective years which adds confidence.

If travelling to Melbourne hasn’t taken the shine off him, and the ground stays in the Good range, he can bolt past them the closing stages.

There are a logjam of longer priced Cup chances around that $23 – $34 mark in the markets that absolutely can outrun their price, but for this year’s best Melbourne Cup roughie I’ve landed on ZAKOUMA (10) for Grahame Begg and the ‘Wizard of the West’ Willie Pike who is enjoying the spring carnival of his life.

This Crowded House six-year-old is still pretty sparingly raced for his age with Tuesday his 19th career start and he returns to HQ fifth-up and fit chasing his first win of season.

Got his early ticked via a Andrew Ramsden win here over 2800m back in mid-May carrying 58.5kg to a three-quarter length win over Pounding making up stacks of late ground and giving every indication he’ll get Tuesday’s 3200m trip.

The weight he carries for this acid test is a postage-stamp 52kg and that alone keeps him more firmly in contention than the price suggests.

Fresh back in late August he ran a credible fifth in the Listed Heatherlie at Caulfield from a wide gate over an unsuitably short 1700m, and that race was won by our subsequent Caulfield Cup champ Kingswood, so already there’s a promising form line to follow.

Sixth again in the Naturalism only 1.66 lengths off Zahrann in a race Saint George finished 3rd in. Again, not too shabby form-wise right?

Fifth in the Herbert Power building well before a Crystal Mile flop to cross dead last to Surfin’ Bird.

Should we be worried about that? Absolutely not. Midfield on the turn he dropped right out but it was really only meant to be a fitness hit-out to keep him ticking over as we get back up to his right distance. Look it as a jumpout and nothing more.

Pike is flying after his Cox Plate victory, and what a story to see Begg run in the money with his first ever Melbourne Cup runner.

One of the feel-good hopefuls, and definitely not without claims!