Trainer Charlie Appleby��s visiting Godolphin horses have all but dominated the staying races in Melbourne this spring and that trend may well continue on Tuesday in the G1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
ppleby is represented by last Saturday��s G3 Lexus Stakes winner Oceanographer and the G3 Geelong Cup winner Qewy and the stable, in recent weeks, has also claimed the G3 Bendigo Cup and had the G1 Caulfield Cup runner-up Scottish.
nd even if Appleby��s winning run does not continue come Tuesday afternoon, there��s every chance the Cup will be leaving Australian shores with no fewer than another seven well credentialled overseas trained runners contesting the major handicap staying contest.
by is pleased with his two runners even if Oceanographer is attempting to defy the ��European way�� by backing up so soon after Saturday and facing the starter for the third time in 13 days, having also finished third - after conceding an impossible start - behind Qewy at Geelong.
back-up is unchartered territory for us but I��m pleased with the horse (Oceanographer). He ate up well after Saturday��s race and his regular track rider said he feels great. He was full of himself, bucking and kicking when he came off the track on Sunday morning. I��d say he was in great order,�� Appleby said.
that the stablemate Qewy should not be overlooked even though much greater odds in betting markets. ��Personally I love Qewy. He��s a horse who��s got a great profile and his front-?running performance at Geelong was very good. Tuesday it sounds as though it��s going to be a genuinely run two miles and that��s going to suit him down to the ground,�� he said.
ned Big Orange is top weight and heads the list of other international contenders. ��The horse is in great order and I think if this race were in England, he would be the clear favourite,�� Bell said of last year��s fifth placegetter.
represented by the nine-year-old Curren Mirotic who was runner-up to Kitasan Black in the Tenno Sho (Spring), at the distance, in May and is considered a genuine threat despite his age. ��He��s a very good horse on his day and I am happy to make this a good staying test on him,�� said jockey Tommy Berry.
, still chasing that elusive first Cup win, is also represented by Hartnell from it��s Australian arm headed by trainer John O��Shea; while Saeed bin Suroor has travelled Beautiful Romance and Secret Number.
rish trained duo Wicklow Brave and Heartbreak City are also well in contention for this year��s Cup along with Aidan O��Brien��s Bondi Beach while Luca Cumani��s son Matthew, now based in Victoria, saddles up the Geelong Cup runner-up Grey Lion.
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