2023 PB Lawrence Stakes Results: Cox Plate Hope Mr Brightside Salutes First-Up
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2023 Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight was excellent late winning by two lengths off his Caulfield Cup victory last month. Photo: Steve Hart.
The Anthony & Sam Freedman-trained Caulfield Cup winner Without A Fight was given a perfectly-timed ride by Mark Zahra, who opted to come off last year’s champ Gold Trip, to become the 12th horse in history to complete the Spring Cups double.
Zahra made up ground from the back hitting the front on the eventual 2023 Melbourne Cup winner the closing stages as Without a Fight charged strongly down the middle before drawing clear for an impressive two length victory over the Chris Waller-trained Soulcombe who missed the kick by three lengths.
Waller also prepared the third place-getter Sheraz who ran out of his skin as a triple-figure roughie to complete the Melbourne Cup trifecta.
Click here for the full story and to view the complete 2023 Melbourne Cup finishing order.
Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE) | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Mark Zahra | 16 | 56.5kg | 1.0kg | $8 | ||
2 | 6 | SOULCOMBE (GB) | Chris Waller | Joao Moreira | 2.25L | 4 | 53.5kg | $9.50 | ||
3 | 14 | SHERAZ (FR) | Chris Waller | Beau Mertens | 2.75L | 22 | 51.5kg | $151 | ||
4 | 11 | ASHRUN (FR) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Kerrin McEvoy | 4.75L | 11 | 51.5kg | $26 | ||
5 | 12 | DAQIANSWEET JUNIOR (NZ) | Phillip Stokes | Daniel Stackhouse | 4.95L | 12 | 51.5kg | $51 | ||
6 | 22 | INTERPRETATION (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Teo Nugent | 5.35L | 17 | 50kg | $41 | ||
7 | 7 | ABSURDE (FR) | Willie Mullins | Zac Purton | 5.45L | 8 | 53kg | $9 | ||
8 | 24 | TRUE MARVEL (FR) | Matthew Smith | Ben Thompson | 6.7L | 10 | 50kg | $151 | ||
9 | 9 | VOW AND DECLARE | Danny O’Brien | Billy Egan | 7.45L | 19 | 53kg | $31 | ||
10 | 17 | MILITARY MISSION (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Ms Rachel King | 8.2L | 5 | 51kg | 0.5kg | $26 | |
11 | 13 | OKITA SOUSHI (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Dylan Gibbons (a) | 8.4L | 20 | 51.5kg | $101 | ||
12 | 20 | MORE FELONS (IRE) | Chris Waller | Ms Jamie Kah | 9.15L | 23 | 50.5kg | $26 | ||
13 | 15 | LASTOTCHKA (FR) | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Craig Williams | 13.15L | 21 | 51kg | $26 | ||
14 | 5 | VAUBAN (FR) | Willie Mullins | Ryan Moore | 13.35L | 3 | 55kg | $5.50F | ||
15 | 21 | FUTURE HISTORY (GB) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Hollie Doyle | 14.1L | 13 | 50kg | $18 | ||
16 | 4 | BREAKUP (JPN) | Tatsuya Yoshioka | Kohei Matsuyama | 14.3L | 18 | 55kg | $18 | ||
17 | 1 | GOLD TRIP (FR) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | James McDonald | 23.3L | 2 | 58.5kg | $6.50 | ||
18 | 19 | VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ) | Liam Howley | Craig Newitt | 32.3L | 6 | 51kg | $151 | ||
19 | 18 | SERPENTINE (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Jye McNeil | 32.4L | 1 | 51kg | $41 | ||
20 | 23 | KALAPOUR (IRE) | Kris Lees | Zac Lloyd (a) | 32.7L | 14 | 50kg | $41 | ||
21 | 2 | ALENQUER (FR) | Michael Moroney | Damien Oliver | 33.45L | 9 | 56.5kg | $21 | ||
22 | 16 | MAGICAL LAGOON (IRE) | Chris Waller | Mark Du Plessis | 43.45L | 7 | 51kg | $101 | ||
FF | 8 | RIGHT YOU ARE | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | John Allen | 15 | 53kg | $31 | |||
10 | CLEVELAND (IRE) | Kris Lees | Michael Dee | 0 | 0.5kg |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
The official Melbourne Cup barrier draw is only released a few days before the iconic handicap race takes place at Flemington Racecourse when final acceptances are taken on Victoria Derby Day. The capacity 24-starter Melbourne Cup field is announced on the Saturday before the race each year.
The official Melbourne Cup 2023 barrier draw will be released live from Flemington Racecourse following the racing action on VRC Derby Day, Saturday November 4, 2023.
The official 24-horse Melbourne Cup 2023 final field has been confirmed with the defending champion Gold Trip looking to go back-to-back with James McDonald coming aboard. Race favourite Vauban will wear the No. 5 Melbourne Cup saddlecloth first-up down under as one of four international raiders in the field.
The 2023 Melbourne Cup barrier draw took place on Saturday evening with the favourite Vauban drawing ideally with barrier three, while Gold Trip will defend his title one closer to the rails jumping from gate two. Click here for the full story.
No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Probable Weight | Penalty | Hcp Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x2570x4135 | GOLD TRIP (FR) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | James McDonald | 2 | 58.5kg | 122 | ||
2 | x69x00x059 | ALENQUER (FR) | Michael Moroney | Damien Oliver | 9 | 56.5kg | 110 | ||
3 | 1x20x11x61 | WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE) | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Mark Zahra | 16 | 56.5kg | 1.0kg | 118 | |
4 | x110x340x8 | BREAKUP (JPN) | Tatsuya Yoshioka | Kohei Matsuyama | 18 | 55kg | 114 | ||
5 | 11x234211x | VAUBAN (FR) | Willie Mullins | Ryan Moore | 3 | 55kg | 114 | ||
6 | 1x682x1437 | SOULCOMBE (GB) | Chris Waller | Joao Moreira | 4 | 53.5kg | 115 | ||
7 | 3127x1261x | ABSURDE (FR) | Willie Mullins | Zac Purton | 8 | 53kg | 110 | ||
8 | 11121×2505 | RIGHT YOU ARE | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | John Allen | 15 | 53kg | 114 | ||
9 | x22460x022 | VOW AND DECLARE | Danny O’Brien | Billy Egan | 19 | 53kg | 115 | ||
10 | 6x50x49621 | CLEVELAND (IRE) | Kris Lees | Michael Dee | 23 | 52kg | 0.5kg | 109 | |
11 | x22410x762 | ASHRUN (FR) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Kerrin McEvoy | 11 | 51.5kg | 109 | ||
12 | 706x0x0074 | DAQIANSWEET JUNIOR (NZ) | Phillip Stokes | Daniel Stackhouse | 12 | 51.5kg | 105 | ||
13 | 0x11x513x0 | OKITA SOUSHI (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Dylan Gibbons (a) | 20 | 51.5kg | 109 | ||
14 | 2x295x0808 | SHERAZ (FR) | Chris Waller | Beau Mertens | 22 | 51.5kg | 105 | ||
15 | 7x1x23x41x | LASTOTCHKA (FR) | Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) | Craig Williams | 21 | 51kg | 106 | ||
16 | 5x0x06x906 | MAGICAL LAGOON (IRE) | Chris Waller | Mark Du Plessis | 7 | 51kg | 106 | ||
17 | 319×920141 | MILITARY MISSION (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Ms Rachel King | 5 | 51kg | 0.5kg | 107 | |
18 | 20x129x243 | SERPENTINE (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Jye McNeil | 1 | 51kg | 110 | ||
19 | x8802x0908 | VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ) | Liam Howley | Craig Newitt | 6 | 51kg | 112 | ||
20 | 1265x728x5 | MORE FELONS (IRE) | Chris Waller | Ms Jamie Kah | 24 | 50.5kg | 106 | ||
21 | 154×721213 | FUTURE HISTORY (GB) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Hollie Doyle | 13 | 50kg | 109 | ||
22 | 536Px32591 | INTERPRETATION (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Teo Nugent | 17 | 50kg | 103 | ||
23 | 213x3L7331 | KALAPOUR (IRE) | Kris Lees | Zac Lloyd (a) | 14 | 50kg | 106 | ||
24 | 02813×8080 | TRUE MARVEL (FR) | Matthew Smith | Ben Thompson | 10 | 50kg | 102 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
An exact value cannot be placed on drawing a good barrier, but some alleys are clearly better than others in regards to producing Melbourne Cup winners over the years.
Despite the many times the race has been run, there are still barriers that have never produced a winner as well as barriers that have only ever sent off a winner once.
When looking at the Melbourne Cup odds on a site like Ladbrokes.com.au, it pays to keep the effect of the Melbourne Cup barrier draw in mind. While the long distance of the race does reduce the importance of the starting barrier, it doesn’t hurt for your horse to start from one of the first 12 barriers.
The most successful barriers leading up to the 2023 Melbourne Cup barrier draw are:
In the past decade barrier 5 has produced two Melbourne Cup winners with Green Moon (2012) and Fiorente (2013) going back-to-back from the gate.
From 2006 – 2016 barrier 10 has also produced two champions with Delta Blues (2006) and Protectionist (2014).
In 2019 Vow And Declare became the first Australian-bred Melbourne Cup winner since Shocking (2009) and won from barrier 21 of 24.
The latest winning Melbourne Cup barrier was 16 (Without A Fight, 2023).
There have historically been a few awful Melbourne Cup barriers. The worst leading up to the 2023 Melbourne Cup barrier draw are:
Barrier 12 recorded a third win in 2020 with Twilight Payment, while Barriers 2 and 20 have 2 wins. Numbers beyond barrier 24 have not been included, as the number of starters is currently limited to 24 with no emergencies.