IT MIGHT BE TWO MONTHS AWAY BUT IT IS ALREADY 'GAME ON' FOR THE 2014 MELBOURNE CUP

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Thirty-one internationally trained horses … headlined by Her Majesty the Queen’s 2013 Ascot Gold Cup winner Estimate … feature in the 148 nominations for the $6.2 million 2014 Emirates Melbourne Cup announced yesterday by Racing Victoria (RV) and the Victoria Racing Club (VRC).

The international flavour of the race … often a cause for debate … is as secure as ever this year with the return of Japanese representation, the likelihood of the first German trained runner since 2001 and the ever formidable presence at this level of staying race of the English and the Irish underlining the fact that the Cup is now more than ever one of racing’s international headline acts.

To date, 110 internationally-trained horses have faced the starter in the Melbourne Cup. They may have only succeeded on five occasions but two of those wins have come in the last four years suggesting a not so subtle shift of power which has put some locals on the back foot.

When trainer Dermot Weld broke the seal with Vintage Crop in 1993, to create history as the first foreign winner of the Cup, that win represented a touch of mastery on his part, but nearly a decade was to pass before an another international runners was to salute in the Cup. That was in 2002. Again it was a horse saddled by Dermot Weld as Media Puzzle and Damian Oliver landed one of the most memorable and emotional victories in the Cup’s history.

Since then Delta Blues (2006 - Katsuhiko Sumii), Americain (2010 - Alain de Royer Dupre) and Dunaden (2011 - Mikel Delzangles) have added to the international’s honour roll.

Their burgeoning success has come with numbers. No longer is there an isolated hopeful, but rather there is something akin to a mass attack with the internationals threatening to overpower the locals for places in the final line-up … let alone in the race itself.

To counter this assault and the dearth of top stayers in Australia, several Australian connections have been purchasing European stayers with the specific aim of coming up with a Melbourne Cup contender meaning that the methodology behind the game to win Australian racing’s richest prize has changed markedly in recent years.

Now just two months away, it is going to be fascinating to see how the 148 nominations are whittled down to the final field. How trainers place their horses now, what they do with them to get them to peak at the right time, who bails because of the natural attrition rate, who is ultimately not good enough to step up to the mark, who is lucky enough to get the last spot, who has the heartbreak of just missing out on a place in the field … it is going to be an intriguing eight weeks.

Whatever the details … it is game on for the 154th running of the Melbourne Cup.

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The following points of interest have been supplied by Racing Victoria:

Highlights among the international entrants for the 2014 Emirates Melbourne Cup include:

The return of Japanese runners for just the second time since Delta Blues and Pop Rock quinellaed the race in 2006 with Admire Rakti and Bande entered and on their way.

The nomination of British warrior and crowd favourite Red Cadeaux for a fourth successive Melbourne Cup tilt having finished second in 2011 and again in 2013.

If the Sir Michael Stoute trained Estimate were to stand her ground at final acceptances she take her place as the second Melbourne Cup runner for the Queen, a full seventeen years after Arabian Story finished sixth in the Cup back in 1997.

Another possible raid by Irish legend and dual Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Dermot Weld who has nominated Estimate’s last start Lonsdale Cup conqueror Pale Mimosa.

The likely presence of the first German-trained runner in the Cup since 2001 with rising star Protectionist and 2013 German Derby winner Lucky Speed among the entries.

Two entries, Mutual Regard and Royal Diamond, from former champion Irish jockey turned trainer Johnny Murtagh who rode unplaced second favourite Septimus in the 2008 Cup.

Highlights among the Australian and New Zealand-trained entrants include:

The Lloyd Williams-owned, Robert Hickmott-trained 2012 champion Green Moon is one of 12 nominations for Williams, the four-time Cup-winning owner, alongside 2013 Caulfield Cup winner Fawkner – who finished sixth in last year’s race.

2014 Sydney Cup winner The Offer is one of three entrants for premier trainer Gai Waterhouse who is chasing successive Cups after the win of Fiorente in 2013.

La Amistad, the three-quarter sister to the Melbourne Cup’s only three-time winner Makybe Diva, has been entered by Team Hawkes.

Classy French stayer Terrubi heads the list of international horses set to debut for Australian trainers this Spring Racing Carnival. He’s been entered by the David Payne stable.

Hall of Fame Legend Bart Cummings, who now trains in partnership with his grandson James, has entered Precedence, a three-time Cup veteran, in pursuit of his 13th Cup win.

*Weights for the Emirates Melbourne Cup will be released on Tuesday, 16 September, with first acceptances taken at 12 noon (AEST) on Tuesday, 7 October.

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