Legendary Irish trainer Willie Mullins is expected to travel to Melbourne to watch his two Melbourne Cup runners Absurde and Vauban prepare for the ‘Race That Stops The Nation’ at Flemington.
Absurde and Vauban, who both ran in the Melbourne Cup last year, finish their quarantine period on Sunday, but are expected to remain at Werribee to prepare for the Group 1 Handicap over 3200m at Flemington on November 5.
Last year both gallopers headed to Breakfast With The Stars on the Tuesday morning before the 2024 Melbourne Cup, giving punters an early look at the pair.
Absurde finished seventh as a $9 chance with betting sites while Vauban was sent out the $5.50 favourite and wound up in 14th spot.
Assistant-trainer David Casey, who travelled with Absurde and Vauban last year, has returned to oversee the preparations of both stayers who have settled in well at Werribee and will begin to build up their work in the next few days, with Mullins expected to be a keen observer.
“We’ve been here a week now and they have had a pretty easy week, so we’ll start stepping things up now,” Casey said.
“I’m happy with how both horses have travelled and settled in, both Vauban and Absurde, so we’re happy at this stage and hopefully we can continue that for the next few weeks.
“Both took the trip well. They lost a little weight, which is normal, but had put it all back on by the next day, which was good.
“They’ve been eating and drinking and have taken all the work that we have given them so far, but we haven’t done anything strenuous yet.”
Mullins has been trying to win the Cup since 2003 with his first runner Holy Orders finishing 17th.
He’s finished in the placings twice with Max Dynamite in 2015 and again in 2017, and after last year has changed the programming, especially with Vauban.
“We had to get him qualified, and we were so keen to get him here, that once he was qualified, we left him alone,” Casey said of Vauban.
“It was a long time between races, three months or so, and we had to do a good deal of work with him, whereas this year we decided to make a plan, come out later and give him more runs into the race.
“He’s arrived here very fit and hopefully we won’t have to work him as much and that will carry over and help him this year.
“It didn’t work last year, so we’ve got to try something new.
“It also got very hot on the day and that affected him, and, on the day, we gave our jockeys wrong instructions. We rode them too handy, and, on the day, it looked like you had to be dropped out.
“All-in-all, those little things told against us and hopefully we get a better result this year.”
Last year Vauban went from a run at Naas in early August to the Cup without another start while this year the stayer has run third in the Curragh Cup in July, won the Lonsdale Cup in August and ran second in the Irish St Leger in September.
Absurde has had two runs since March, being a last start winner of the Chester Cup, and the stable has taken on the Ciaron Maher-trained Playoffs as a work partner for the stayer.
Casey said Mullins was due in Melbourne this week before returning to Ireland.
“He’s coming out to see them both working and then come for the racing,” Casey said.
“Hopefully he likes what he sees, and at the moment we’re very happy and hopefully everything will be OK.”