A frustrating spring sequence of second placings has ended for trainer Tony Gollan on the biggest stage of all with Hijack Hussy’s win at Flemington. Brisbane’s premier trainer, best known for his success with sprinters, did not have a Melbourne Cup runner on Tuesday but was excited to be able… Read More »
Tony McEvoy prepared Risen From Doubt to win at Flemington on Tuesday but the trainer was still pondering what might have been after Big Memory missed a Melbourne Cup start. Big Memory was just outside the final field of 24 for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup after acceptances. Two scratchings reduced the… Read More »
Chris Munce has celebrated the 16th anniversary of his Melbourne Cup win on Jezabeel with a clever victory at Doomben on Tuesday. Munce gave his younger rivals a riding lesson when he steered Black Ninja ($4.40) to an easy win in the Novotel Brisbane Airport Hcp (2200m). Tuesday’s 2240m race… Read More »
There’s plenty of silliness before things get serious on Melbourne Cup day. Ninja Turtles, superheroes and sumo wrestlers are jostling with thousands of colourfully dressed punters on the lawn at Flemington racecourse. Warm weather has drawn an estimated 100,000 people to the track for the $6.2 million race. There are… Read More »
Jockey Tommy Berry had two Melbourne Cup rides fall by the wayside but he was delighted to come home a winner aboard General Groove in the Lavazza Short Black. Berry was booked to ride long-time Cup favourite The Offer before it was withdrawn last week. He then secured the ride… Read More »
Thirty-one years after he won the Melbourne Cup on Kiwi, Jim Cassidy is still making his mark on Australian racing’s biggest day. And while he might be an elder statesman of the jockeys’ room, Cassidy’s renowned strength in a finish hasn’t diminished as he drove Grand Marshal to victory in… Read More »
Craig Williams lost the chance to win a Melbourne Cup for a world racing superpower but he took great delight in delivering a Cup day victory for a country trainer. Williams guided the Gwenda Johnstone-trained Precious Gem to victory by the barest margin in Tuesday’s Tab.com.au Trophy at Flemington which… Read More »
Godolphin Australia provided some consolation for Sheikh Mohammed when Antelucan scored a debut win in the opening race on Melbourne Cup day. Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin team was forced to scratch Cavalryman from the Melbourne Cup on race morning due to swelling to his near-fore fetlock. Ridden by Chad Schofield, Antelucan… Read More »
It’s great to see your horse leading in the Melbourne Cup but the smart runners will be keeping back in the pack. Researchers have found that a jockey can save huge amounts of his horse’s energy by smart slipstreaming. High-tech wind tunnel tests at RMIT University have found that a… Read More »
Japanese stayer Admire Rakti remains the favourite in a Melbourne Cup field dominated by a record 11 international horses. An expected 100,000 people will flock to Flemington Racecourse for Australia’s richest horse race on Tuesday. Famous faces including Australian model Megan Gale, Bold and the Beautiful star Ron Moss and… Read More »
Godolphin’s Melbourne Cup contender Cavalryman is in doubt for Tuesday’s race with a leg injury. He was found to have swelling to his near-fore fetlock on Monday afternoon and x-rays have been sent to Sheikh Mohammed’s vets overseas. They will study the x-rays as will Australian vets before a decision… Read More »
Craig Williams’ chance to join an elite group of grand slam winning jockeys is in doubt with an injury scare for Godolphin’s Cavalryman. Williams needs only the Melbourne Cup to complete the set and join seven other riders to have won the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden… Read More »
The build-up to the Melbourne Cup is complete with the arrival of Bart Cummings in town for Australia’s biggest race. The 12-time Cup winning trainer has missed the past couple due to ill health and a lack of runners. This year he’s here to watch veteran Precedence run in the… Read More »
The Melbourne Cup stops the nation for a few minutes, but it stops Melbourne for days. Not content with a public holiday on Tuesday, the sports mad southern city ceases normal business from Friday night on. But people don’t put their feet up – they go Cup crazy. The Saturday… Read More »
When former champion Irish rider Johnny Murtagh came calling, Steven Arnold had no hesitation in taking the ride on Royal Diamond in the Melbourne Cup. Although Royal Diamond is the longer priced of the two Murtagh-trained runners, Arnold is buoyed by the fact the 3200 metres will be ideal for… Read More »
Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor is back again on a mission to give his boss the Melbourne Cup win he has been chasing for more than 15 years. As a trainer for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin operation, bin Suroor has been coming to Melbourne since 1998. Godolphin is represented by Cavalryman and… Read More »
Glyn and Chad Schofield don’t need a win in the Melbourne Cup to make some kind of history. They’re already the first father and son to ride in a Melbourne Cup for nearly 50 years. It’s not the first time there’s been two Schofields in a race but Tuesday will… Read More »
Hugh Bowman has missed a number of Melbourne’s feature races this spring and is hoping to make up for it in the biggest of them all. The top Sydney-based jockey was forced to watch the Caulfield Cup from the sidelines after the horse we was booked to ride – My… Read More »
Australian horse Fawkner has found some late support amid the big foreign field chasing the Melbourne Cup. But even the jockeys riding the other horses in the race are still talking up Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti. The Japanese raider’s name was on the lips of those best placed to… Read More »
SOME MELBOURNE CUP TIPS: * Prime Minister Tony Abbott – Signoff, 2nd Admire Rakti, 3rd Lucia Valentina * Leading Melbourne trainer Darren Weir, who has Signoff in the race – Fawkner * James Cummings, who is training Precedence with grandfather Bart – Admire Rakti * Champion jockey Glen Boss, who… Read More »
