Jumping clinic with international show jumper Laura Kennedy
Saturday 16 November 2024
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It would be fair to say that the iconic Melbourne Cup holds a special place in the hearts of horse racing fans in Australia.
Lovingly known as ‘the race that stops the nation’, the Flemington Racecourse showpiece is one of the biggest betting events of the year.
Punters clamour to find reliable Melbourne Cup betting tips ahead of the race to better inform their wagering selections on the big day.
With that in mind, read on as we look at some of the key Melbourne Cup talking points to consider, starting with one of the favourites for the race.
Top British jockey Ryan Moore will fly across the world to partner the Aidan O’Brien-trained Jan Breughel in the Melbourne Cup.
Moore is scheduled to ride at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships in the United States a few days earlier, but will head to Australia after the meeting.
He won the Melbourne Cup aboard Protectionist in 2014, but failed to cover himself in glory when riding race favourite Vauban last year.
William Buick will ride Vauban in this year’s renewal and will be eager to improve on the horse’s disappointing 14th place finish in 2023.
Jan Brueghel’s participation was only confirmed after he passed a set of stringent veterinary checks, which O’Brien described as ‘ridiculous’ before they were conducted.
The son of Galileo maintained his unbeaten record by winning the English St Leger last month and has an excellent chance of giving O’Brien his first Melbourne Cup victory.
O’Brien saddled Tiger Moth to finish second in the race in 2020, when it was won by his son Joseph’s Twilight Payment, but he has not had a runner since then.
Star Australian jockey Jamie Kah has been booked to ride the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Point King in the Melbourne Cup.
The horse earned a ballot exemption to the race by recording a gritty victory under Kah in the Group 3 Archer Stakes at Flemington in September.
Point King was subsequently ridden by Ben Melham when finishing second in the Bart Cummings, but Kah will be back in the plate next month.
Kah is currently serving a three-week suspension after failing to take all ‘reasonable and permissible’ steps to improve the position of her mount in a race on August 31.
Her barrister argued she should not have been punished for taking a ‘safety-first approach’ in difficult conditions having suffering a nasty fall last year.
She spent six days in an induced coma and a further month in hospital before a lengthy rehabilitation, but the tribunal still banned her.
Kah will be eager to prove a point in the Melbourne Cup aboard a horse who is one of the bookmakers’ top fancies to emerge victorious.
Caulfield and Melbourne Cup contender Warp Speed will be ridden by Japanese jockey Akira Sugawara in the two big Australian races.
Sugawara has been aboard the Noboru Takagi-trained horse in 10 of his 22 starts at home, and has been handed the chance to continue the partnership.
Takagi's assistant trainer Isao Nakagaki believes Sugawara has earned the right to go head-to-head with some of the top jockeys in the world in Australia.
"He's a very good young upcoming rider that won a Group 1 not long ago," Nakagaki said. "The owner wanted to give him a go so he will ride the horse.
"He's a very hardworking jockey and he studies a lot. He's watched a lot of international races and we're sure he is well aware of how the races pan out and how they are run in Australia.”
The six-year-old performed well on his most recent outing in Japan, finishing fifth behind T O Royal in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) at Kyoto Racecourse earlier this year.
Without A Fight did the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double last year and Warp Speed’s connections believe he has a good chance of emulating the feat.
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