It's the race that stops a nation!
Melbourne Cup Day, a day of great history, and once again, one horse, one trainer, a jockey and some lucky connections will be celebrating victory in one of the world's most prestigious horse races.
Much of the talk of this carnival has been about the Melbourne weather, and it could be another testing day with a forecast of 14 degrees and showers. Not the best November day that's for sure, but the Flemington track should hold up well and is currently rated a Soft 7.
The Cup itself is Race 7 of the card and gets underway at 3pm AEDT, with Deauville Legend the $3.70 favourite. We have a Melbourne Cup runner-by-runner preview of the big race which you can check out.
Brendan Bunworth is back to take a look at the other races on a massive day of racing with Race 1 getting underway at 10:45am. Check out his free preview and Melbourne Cup Day betting tips below!
Melbourne Cup Day Preview & Betting Tips
Race 1 (10:45am)
(1) Zulfiqar led and won on debut at Flemington (one month ago) and it looks like the two-year-old colt may lead again here. William Buick was poor in the saddle on Derby Day and will look to get off to a good start for the Cummings stable.
(4) Diabelli is the stablemate of Zulfiqar and is having his first start. The Fastnet Rock x Wedding Veil colt will attract market support being from an in-form stable.
(9) Awestruck attracted early support in early betting and must be cherry ripe for the Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr stable.
(5) Hellish for Danny O’Brien and Damien Lane is the next pick.
(1) Zulfiqar
$3.60 (1 unit)
Race 2 (11:20am)
(8) Verimli for Rob Hickmott should be ready to go fourth up after some miles in his legs.
He is slightly down in class and will settle forward in this race. He failed behind the in-form Port Phillip two starts back at Caulfield but his last run was much better in the Bendigo Cup behind High Emocean. He has won two from five starts on the Soft ground and has a better barrier than the favourite (nine).
(7) White Marlin will start fave for the Waterhouse & Bott stable and is the one to beat. I’m just worried about the barrier though. He has drawn the widest barrier in 15 and may get caught wide early. He is unbeaten and did beat Manzoice (Derby winner) two starts ago.
(3) Team Captain for the Cumani team has been racing pretty well and his four starts this time in have been in good races. This is probably the easiest of them.
(4) Herman Hesse has had no luck with wet tracks this prep. He needs it dry but doubt he will get that.
(8) Verimli
$11.00 (1 unit)
Race 3 (12:00pm)
(4) Ascension is from a leading stable (Maher & Eustace) and has a leading jockey in Jamie Kah on board which is a big plus. He does settle back a bit so will need pace on and I think he will get that with Naval Envoy out in front. Has won four from eight on the Soft.
(5) Struck By has a good barrier in two and comes over from South Australia in fine form. He will be up on pace and in the finish but he does go better on drier tracks..
(10) The Cunning Fox for Patrick Payne is first up after a six month break but he was racing against some better horses last campaign. Hasn’t won first up before but Willow sticks with him.
(3) Criminal Code is another who is first up but has drawn poorly in 15.
(4) Ascension
$4.40 (1 unit)
Race 4 (12:40pm)
(5) Lindermann was scratched on the weekend in preference for this race and you can be sure the Waller stable has him ready to fire at double figure odds. His run at Warwick Farm two starts ago was very good when beaten half a length to Savoury. Last start he was no good on the Heavy surface. A Soft track is okay, Heavy is not.
(12) Quang Tri is the one to beat for the Payne stable but has drawn poorly in 12. She loves wet tracks and if it does rain on the day then maybe she should be top pick with Lindermann. She will start short but will be strong to the line. She has a good association with Micky Dee who stays on.
(3) Dashing is an on-pace runner who will be in this for s long way for the Aaron Purcell stable. Linda Meech knows the son of Magnus very well and stick with him.
(7) Cool Kap has the best jockey and trainer in Australia on his side but probably does need to improve two or three lengths.
(5) Lindermann
$14/$3.30 (0.5 units E/W)
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Race 5 (1:20pm)
(17) Kin for Team Cummings has Kah on board and this horse is very consistent. She does get back a bit but will be running on late down the Flemington straight. She was unplaced behind English Riviera last start but with another 100m would have been in the finish. She drops back from 1200m to 1000m which i was surprised with but the stable obviously has a plan with her.
(5) Alpha Flight will settle on-pace and is another who is very consistent. He hasnt missed a placing since resuming from a spell and the Jolly teamto have a good strike rate when they bring them to Flemington.
(12) Katsu is going for three on the bounce for the Begg team and has to be in the mix. He goes good for Jordan Childs.
(8) Port Albert is always in the finish and is 100 percent fit now after a third and first recently at Caulfield and Moe.
Race 6 (1:55pm)
(13) Lord Vladivostock for the Hickmott team has settled back his last two starts for mixed results. At Murray Bridge two starts ago he probably should have won when he stormed home when going down by a nose but then was a little disappointing behind Old Flame on Derby Day. Is on the quick back up and he does have a good winning strike rate (6 from22).
(8) Bermadez is another with a very good winning strike rate (six from 16) and has Ollie on board. He won fourth up last prep and will have to do it again.
(6) Character has been running in some very good races of late and this is a little easier.
She will likely settle midfield for Kah and she will be happy if the track stays soft. Her fourth behind Visinari at Flemington two starts back was very good.
(9) Sir Davy has a wide barrier in 15 and will likely drift back. Ethan Brown stays on and knows him well.
(13) Lord Vladivostock
$8.00 (1 unit)
Race 7 - Melbourne Cup (3:00pm)
Check out the link below for a full Melbourne Cup runner-by-runner preview from Billy Bestford.
Race 8 (3:50pm)
(10) Munhamek has put in two good runs in Melbourne since coming over from Hong Kong. He is one that does swoop in his races so will be worse of midfield early. Most of his racing has been on Good tracks but from the limited starts that he has had on rain affected ground, he still raced well. Blake Shinn rode him in Hong Kong on a few occasions and sticks with him.
(15) Beehunter will be back early and will plug away into the top half of the field. If he runs his best, he can run top three and any old odds for Johnny Sadler.
(7) The Garden has been one I have liked for sometime now but I worry he will be up there early with a few others who may be sitting ducks for the swoppers late. He goes on any ground and is slightly down in class.
(11) Pascero doesn't want much rain and if it doesn't rain on the day should run top four. He is another who gets back and barrier 15 is a slight concern.
(10) Munhamek
$5.50 (3 units)
Race 9 (4:35pm)
(4) Tycoon Evie tried different tactics last start and it worked well for her most of the way when fourth behind Excelida last start. She usually settles back in the field so it will be interesting to see what the stable does here. Either way it was a good run last time and I'm happy to stick with her at odds.
She has a look at Flemington for the second time now which is a bonus and Tommy Berry takes the ride.
(19) Roots is an in-form mare who just got nabbed at The Valley last time. Waller has given Ollie the opportunity and she is sure to attract punters' support. She has won three from four on Soft ground.
(18) Finepoint is another Waller runner who has never missed a top three finish on Soft ground. She is always in the market and I expect her to run top four.
(5) Heresy settled back and likes wet tracks.The more rain, the better.
(4) Tycoon Evie
$26/$6.50 (0.5 unit E/W)
Race 10 (5:15pm)
(16) Vespertine has a pretty good record second up and she wasn't too far away when seventh to Literary Magnate when resuming. In her last eight starts the most that she has ever got beaten by is three lengths and she has been in the money five times from nine starts over this distance. She will get back and does have a wide draw in 14 but by the last race, the outside might be the place to be.
(6) Najmaty has won four from 11 and is first up after a fourth month spell. She has won twice from three attempts first up and does usually race better fresh. She will settle back and will be on the scene late.
(11) Zethus likes Soft ground and is racing well at the moment. From barrier 13 he will come over to the grandstand side and will try and pinch a break on them at the 200m before the backmarkers arrive.
(13) Chassis has the inside draw and if the going is better closer to the rails then it is an each-way chance.
(16) Vespertine
$9.00/$3.00 (1 unit E/W)
