A total of 47 declarations have been received for the $6 million Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m), to be run next Tuesday.
The number is higher than most years.
In 2009, 42 horses remained in contention at this stage, while in 2008, 39 horses remained in the running.
Incredibly, out of the top 40, only four horses pulled out – Sans Frontieres, Zabrasive, Doctor Fremantle and Vigor.
This leaves a number of key runners unlikely to get a start unless there is a high attrition rate.
These include Moonee Valley Cup winner Precedence, Wellington Cup winner Red Ruler, Herbert Power Stakes winner Linton, the Metropolitan quinella Herculian Prince and Mourayan, Sydney Cup winner No Wine No Song and the internationally-trained trio Holberg, Drunken Sailor and Eastern Aria.
The Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) and the Group 3 Lexus Stakes (2500m) allows the winner to get a ballot exemption for the Melbourne Cup.
Both races will be the final opportunity for horses to sneak into the Cup field.
Final acceptances are taken at 5pm on Saturday afternoon.
7- EMIRATES MELBOURNE CUP (3200 METRES)
(GROUP 1)
| No | Horse | Trainer | Handicapper Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABOVE AVERAGE (IRE) | Lee Freedman | 100 |
| 2 | ALCOPOP | Jake Stephens | 106 |
| 3 | AMERICAIN (USA) | Alain de Royer Dupre | 110 |
| 4 | BAUER (IRE) | Luca Cumani | 110 |
| 5 | BUCCELLATI (GB) | Tony Noonan | 109 |
| 6 | C’EST LA GUERRE (NZ) | Robert Hickmott | 108 |
| 7 | CAMPANOLOGIST (USA) | Saeed Bin Suroor | 116 |
| 8 | CAPECOVER (NZ) | Patrick Payne | 106 |
| 9 | CEDARBERG | Pat Carey | 66 |
| 10 | COUNT ENCOSTA | John P Thompson | 93 |
| 11 | DARIANA | Bart Cummings | 106 |
| 12 | DESCARADO (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | 115 |
| 13 | DRUNKEN SAILOR (IRE) | Luca Cumani | 108 |
| 14 | EASTERN ARIA (UAE) | Mark Johnston | 108 |
| 15 | EXCEPTIONALLY (NZ) | Terry & Karina O’Sullivan | 82 |
| 16 | FAINT PERFUME | Bart Cummings | 108 |
| 17 | GOTHIC CROWN | Todd Balfour | 64 |
| 18 | HARRIS TWEED (NZ) | Murray & Bjorn Baker | 107 |
| 19 | HERCULIAN PRINCE (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse | 110 |
| 20 | HOLBERG (UAE) | Saeed Bin Suroor | 107 |
| 21 | ILLUSTRIOUS BLUE (GB) | William J Knight | 112 |
| 22 | JESSICABEEL (NZ) | John O’Shea | 108 |
| 23 | LINTON | Robert Hickmott | 99 |
| 24 | MALUCKYDAY (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | 73 |
| 25 | MANIGHAR (FR) | Luca Cumani | 110 |
| 26 | MASTER O’REILLY (NZ) | Danny O’Brien | 109 |
| 27 | METAL BENDER (NZ) | Chris Waller | 116 |
| 28 | MONACO CONSUL (NZ) | Michael Moroney | 108 |
| 29 | MOUDRE | Ciaron Maher | 100 |
| 30 | MOURAYAN (IRE) | Robert Hickmott | 107 |
| 31 | MR CHARLIE (NZ) | Peter G Moody | 82 |
| 32 | MR MEDICI (IRE) | Peter Ho | 112 |
| 33 | MY BENTLEY (NZ) | Michael Kent | 82 |
| 34 | NO WINE NO SONG | Kevin Moses | 108 |
| 35 | ONCE WERE WILD | Gai Waterhouse | 108 |
| 36 | PRECEDENCE (NZ) | Bart Cummings | 101 |
| 37 | PROFOUND BEAUTY (IRE) | Dermot K Weld | 112 |
| 38 | RED RULER (NZ) | John Sargent | 108 |
| 39 | SEA GALLEON | Colin & Cindy Alderson | 70 |
| 40 | SHOCKING | Mark Kavanagh | 115 |
| 41 | SHOOT OUT | John Wallace | 115 |
| 42 | SO YOU THINK (NZ) | Bart Cummings | 118 |
| 43 | STANSTILL (IRE) | Michael Kent | 89 |
| 44 | TOKAI TRICK (JPN) | Kenji Nonaka | 111 |
| 45 | VALDEMORO | Tony Vasil | 98 |
| 46 | ZAVITE (NZ) | Anthony Cummings | 110 |
| 47 | ZIPPING | Robert Hickmott | 116 |
Written by Andrew Hawkins