Gilded Water, the horse owned by King Charles, is among those seeking direct entry into the Melbourne Cup via the Geelong Cup.
Wednesday’s race meet was abandoned due to heavy winds which damaged marquees and the track itself, with the Geelong Cup rescheduled for Thursday afternoon.
The race is a key element of the Melbourne Cup build-up with the winner given direct entry into the $10m spring carnival main event.
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As of Monday seven horses in the Geelong Cup field were on the Melbourne Cup Order of Entry including Changingoftheguard (23), Onesmoothoperator (24), Grand Pierro (35), Whisky On The Hill (36), Torranzino (40), Gilded Water (41) and Fernao (42).
“I wanted to run at Geelong Cup. The weights are slightly better,” Cup-winning trainer Ciaron Maher said of Gilded Water.
“I had accepted at Moonee Valley because of the uncertainty of the weather, so I think I will still run at Geelong.”
It comes after one-time Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup favourite Sir Delius was sent to the paddock as Tulloch Lodge turn their focus to a Sydney autumn carnival campaign.
The door was left ajar for the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Sir Delius to continue his spring campaign in Sydney following his bombshell withdrawal from both the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup.
Sir Delius was ruled out of the Melbourne spring’s two biggest races after Racing Victoria’s controversial veterinary protocols ruled the star import had a heightened risk of injury.
Melbourne Cup runners are required to undergo compulsory Computed Tomography (CT) scan of distal limbs before an independent review is done of those scans.
Racing Victoria stewards stood down Sir Delius from competing in the remainder of the carnival however there was still the option of the multiple Group 1 winner running in Sydney, provided he was given the green light by Racing NSW stewards.
But Sir Delius was a notable omission from Saturday’s Group 3 $750,000 Craven Plate (1800m) with Waterhouse confirming the five-year-old had now been spelled.
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“After discussing Sir Delius with the ownership group, Adrian and I have made the decision to spell him and set our sights on the autumn carnival,” Waterhouse said on X.
“He’s an extremely valuable horse and one we firmly believe will continue to prove he’s the best weight for age performer in Australia.”
Waterhouse confirmed the Group 1 $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick would be the target for Sir Delius in the New Year.
Portions of this article were originally published at Punters and were republished with permission.
HOW DOES THE MELBOURNE CUP ORDER OF ENTRY WORK?
The Melbourne Cup Order of Entry dictates which horses make the field for the Flemington event.
Of the 24 Melbourne Cup entrants who make the cut, 10 are winners of the Ballot Exemption or Golden Ticket races (like the Geelong Cup) while the remaining 14 are determined by weight.
Those weights can change based on performances between September and November 1 and are determined by Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper.
The final field will be announced at around 4:30pm on Saturday November 1, before the Melbourne Cup runs at 3pm on Tuesday November 4.
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Melbourne Cup declarations schedule (All times AEDT)
Third declarations: 12pm Monday October 27
Final Declarations and Field: 4:30pm Saturday November 1
Barrier draw: 5:30pm Saturday November 1
Ballot exempt races
The Bart Cummings, Caulfield Cup, Andrew Ramsden, Cox Plate, Lexus Archer Stakes, Roy Higgins Quality, Geelong Cup, Moonee Valley Gold Cup, Ebor Handicap and Belmont Gold Cup
International races where winner is invited
The Arlington Million, the San Juan Capistrano Handicap in the USA, the Doncaster Cup in the UK, the Irish St. Leger, the Tenno Sho and Sankei Sho in Japan
Current Melbourne Cup Order of Entry
As of Tuesday October 21
1= HALF YOURS Tony & Calvin McEvoy 53kg
1= DEAKIN (FR) Phillip Stokes 52kg
1= PARCHMENT PARTY (USA) William Mott 52kg
1= REVELARE Robert Hickmott 51.5kg
1= VALIANT KING (GB) Chris Waller 51kg
6 AL RIFFA (FR) Joseph O’Brien 59kg
7 BUCKAROO (GB) Chris Waller 57kg
8 ARAPAHO (FR) Bjorn Baker 56.5kg
9 VAUBAN (FR) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 56.5kg
10 CHEVALIER ROSE (JPN) Hisashi Shimizu 55.5kg
11 PRESAGE NOCTURNE (IRE) Alessandro Botti 55.5kg
12 FURTHUR (IRE) Andrew Balding 52kg
13 MIDDLE EARTH (GB) Ciaron Maher 54.5kg
14 ZARDOZI Ciaron Maher 52.5kg
15 MEYDAAN (IRE) Simon & Ed Crisford 54kg
16 LAND LEGEND (FR) Chris Waller 53.5kg
17 SMOKIN’ ROMANS (NZ) Ciaron Maher 53.5kg
18 ABSURDE (FR) Willie Mullins 53.5kg
19 FLATTEN THE CURVE (FR) Henk Grewe 53.5kg
20 RIVER OF STARS (IRE) Chris Waller 51.5kg
21 MORE FELONS (IRE) Chris Waller 53kg
22 GOODIE TWO SHOES (IRE) Joseph O’Brien 51.5kg
23 CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD (IRE) Kris Lees 53kg
24 ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (USA) Brian Ellison 52kg
25 ATHABASCAN (FR) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 51.5kg
26 POINT KING (IRE) Anthony & Sam Freedman 51.5kg
27 ROYAL SUPREMACY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
28 MARK TWAIN (NZ) Roger James & Robert Wellwood 51kg
29 BIRDMAN (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
30 POST IMPRESSIONIST (IRE) Anthony & Sam Freedman 51kg
31 SCARY (NZ) Emma-Lee & David Browne 51kg
32 TRAV (NZ) Raymond Connors 51kg
33 ETNA ROSSO (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
34 BRAYDEN STAR (GB) Busuttin & Young 51kg
35 GRAND PIERRO Jason Warren 51kg
36 WHISKY ON THE HILL (GB) Glen Thompson 51kg
37 INTERPRETATION (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
38 DON DIEGO DE VEGA (FR) Annabel & Rob Archibald 51kg
39 SAYEDATY SADATY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
40 TORRANZINO (NZ) Paul Preusker 51kg
41 GILDED WATER (GB) Ciaron Maher 51kg
42 FERNAO (IRE) Annabel & Rob Archibald 51kg
43 GOLDEN SNAP (JPN) Katsunori Tanaka 51.5kg
44 ADELAIDE RIVER (IRE) Kris Lees 52kg
45= CLEVELAND (IRE) Kris Lees 51kg
45= DASHING DUCHESS (NZ) Symon Wilde 51kg
45= KINGS VALLEY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
45= QUIETNESS (GB) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 51kg
45= SO YOU ARE Stirling Osland 51kg
45= STAR OF INDIA (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
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