A field of 40 hopefuls remain in contention for the Melbourne Cup after Monday’s third acceptances for Tuesday’s $10 million event.
The Robert Hickmott-trained Revelare, which was guaranteed a Melbourne Cup start after winning last month’s Archer Stakes, was withdrawn on Monday after the gelding pulled up lame following the Caulfield Cup.
While Revelare dropped out of Melbourne Cup contention, Cox Plate runner-up Buckaroo fully entered the picture after his fighting second to star mare Via Sistina in last Saturday’s Cox Plate at The Valley.
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English galloper Onesmoothoperator and the Paul Preusker-trained Torranzino became ballot exempt for the Melbourne Cup after their respective wins in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup and Geelong Cup.
Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper David Hegan penalised Onesmoothoperator 1kg for his Moonee Valley Gold Cup win, taking his Melbourne Cup weight to 53kg.
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Hegan decided against penalising Torranzino for his Geelong Cup win, leaving him on 51kg for the Melbourne Cup.The Victoria Racing Club will declare the Melbourne Cup field on Saturday afternoon.
Wednesday’s Bendigo Cup offers another chance for hopefuls to force their way into the field, although winning the race does not guarantee a golden ticket for the great race.
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COX PLATE NEAR-MISS INSPIRES CUP TILT (Brad Waters, punters.com.au)
An epic Cox Plate second convinced part-owner Ozzie Kheir to chase another Melbourne Cup with Buckaroo.
Trainer Chris Waller played down Buckaroo’s chances of running in another Melbourne Cup earlier in the spring but Kheir on Monday confirmed the import would be a third acceptor for the $10 million race.
Buckaroo ran second in the Group 1 Might And Power Stakes (2000m) at Caulfield before almost derailing his stablemate Via Sistina’s bid for back-to-back Cox Plate triumphs at The Valley last Saturday.
“I just thought that he’d run to the peak performance of his career on Saturday,” Kheir said.
“I haven’t seen the ratings yet but he’s run to his peak and probably gone the best that he’s ever gone.
“He’s only been beaten by a champion mare, probably the horse of the year again.
“He’s only been beaten a nose so I thought you’ve got to give him his chance.”
Waller, though, says he’ll wait until Saturday’s acceptance deadline before deciding if Cox Plate runner-up Buckaroo will line up in the race.
“We’ll use all that time,” Waller said during Tuesday’s Flemington gallops. “Like we did with Verry Elleegant, we waited right up to the deadline … and use that time to make sure we’re happy with him running in the race.
“He’s come through his Cox Plate run in good shape … and passed his scans,” added Waller, who rated Buckaroo’s Cup prospects a “50-50” chance.
STAR IMPORT PASSES KEY TEST (Brad Waters, punters.com.au)
Melbourne Cup equal favourite Al Riffa has cleared one major hurdle in his attempt to give Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien his third win in Australia’s greatest race.Al Riffa is a $6 chance to join Rekindling and Twilight Payment as Melbourne Cup winners for the son of training legend Aidan O’Brien, who is yet to win Flemington’s showpiece.
NSW-based syndicators Australian Bloodstock bought a controlling share in the six-year-old stallion after his easy win in the Group 2 Curragh Cup in July, four weeks before the stayer won the Group 1 Irish St Leger.
Vintage Crop won the Irish St Leger and Melbourne Cup in 1993 but no horse, not even champions Vinnie Roe and Yeats, have since been able to complete the double.
O’Brien’s representative Sean Corby said Al Riffa had settled into the Werribee quarantine centre well since arriving on a gruelling 40-hour flight from London.
“He’s fine. He travelled over really well and everything has gone smooth so we’re really happy up until now,” Corby said.
“He’s done nearly a couple of weeks now and we’re very happy with him.
“He didn’t lose any weight at all on the journey. He travelled over very well.”
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)
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 Monday October 27
Ballot Order – Horse – Trainer/s – Weight
1= HALF YOURS Tony & Calvin McEvoy 53kg (2.0kg penalty)
1= ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (USA) Brian Ellison 52kg (1.0kg penalty)
1= PARCHMENT PARTY (USA) William Mott 52kg
1= TORRANZINO (NZ) Paul Preusker 51kg
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 MEYDAAN (IRE) Simon & Ed Crisford 54kg
15 LAND LEGEND (FR) Chris Waller 53.5kg
16 SMOKIN’ ROMANS (NZ) Ciaron Maher 53.5kg
17 ABSURDE (FR) Willie Mullins 53.5kg
18 FLATTEN THE CURVE (FR) Henk Grewe 53.5kg
19 RIVER OF STARS (IRE) Chris Waller 51.5kg
20 MORE FELONS (IRE) Chris Waller 53kg
21 GOODIE TWO SHOES (IRE) Joseph O’Brien 51.5kg
22 CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD (IRE) Kris Lees 53kg
23 ATHABASCAN (FR) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 51.5kg
24 ROYAL SUPREMACY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
25 MARK TWAIN (NZ) Roger James & Robert Wellwood 51kg
26 BIRDMAN (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
27 POST IMPRESSIONIST (IRE) Anthony & Sam Freedman 51kg
28 SCARY (NZ) Emma-Lee & David Browne 51kg
29 TRAV (NZ) Raymond Connors 51kg
30 ETNA ROSSO (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
31 GRAND PIERRO Jason Warren 51kg
32 WHISKY ON THE HILL (GB) Glen Thompson 51kg
33 INTERPRETATION (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
34 DON DIEGO DE VEGA (FR) Annabel & Rob Archibald 51kg
35 SAYEDATY SADATY (IRE) Ciaron Maher 51kg
36 FERNAO (IRE) Annabel & Rob Archibald 51kg
37 GOLDEN SNAP (JPN) Katsunori Tanaka 51.5kg
38 = QUIETNESS (GB) John O’Shea & Tom Charlton 51kg
38 = SO YOU ARE Stirling Osland 51kg
38 = STAR OF INDIA (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
Portions of this article were originally published by Punters.com.au
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