Vauban heads the field for the Melbourne Cup as Willie Mullins’ hype horse is given a shot at redemption Down Under in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot winner could only finish a deeply disappointing 14th in last year’s renewal of the ‘race that stops the nation’ but expectations are high once again thanks to a change of approach and improved form on the level this term.
Vauban is one of two Closutton contenders for the mega prize pot as last season’s seventh, Absurde, is also back for another crack and bidding to cap off a cracking campaign in which the County Hurdle and Listed Chester Stakes have already been captured.
The Brits also boast a pair of leading hopefuls in the form of Northumberland Plate winner Onesmoothoperator, who landed the Group 3 Geelong Cup upon his arrival in Australia, and Ebor sixth Sea King, who also bagged Aussie Group 3 honours in the Bendigo Cup on stable debut for Harry Eustace last week.
The home charge is led by a familiar name in Buckaroo – formerly trained by Joseph O’Brien – following a run of impressive results for Chris Waller in recent months, but the son of Fastnet Rock will tackle a staying trip for the first time in his career.
Mark Zahra has ridden the last two winners of the Melbourne Cup and takes the ride on Circle Of Fire – previously trained by Sir Michael Stoute – in his attempt to become the first jockey since Glen Boss in 2005 to seal a hat-trick.
Melbourne Cup odds can be found on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app, otherwise, the confirmed runners and riders for Tuesday’s 04:00 at Flemington are below.
Melbourne Cup runners and riders
The following 24 horses have been declared for the Melbourne Cup 2024.
Vauban (William Buick)
Buckaroo (Joao Moreira)
Circle Of Fire (Mark Zahra)
Warp Speed (Akira Sugawara)
Kovalica (Damian Lane)
Sharp ‘N’ Smart (Michael Dee)
Just Fine (Jye McNeil)
Land Legend (Zac Purton)
Absurde (Kerrin McEvoy)
Athabascan (NR)
Knight’s Choice (Robbie Dolan)
Okita Soushi (Jamie Kah)
Onesmoothoperator (Craig A Williams)
Zardozi (Andrea Atzeni)
Sea King (Hollie Doyle)
Valiant King (Craig Newitt)
Fancy Man (Ronnie Stewart)
Interpretation (Teodore Nugent)
Manzoice (Declan Bates)
Mostly Cloudy (Karis Teetan)
Positivity (Winona Costin)
Saint George (Tyler Schiller)
The Map (Rachel King)
Trust In You (Mark Du Plessis)
Onesmoothoperator winning the Northumberland Plate 2024
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