Oliver Gets 'Cup' Nod For Almandin

Three-time G1 Melbourne Cup winning jockey Damien Oliver has secured the mount on last year's winner Almandin (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) in the great race in Flemington Nov. 7. “It's a great opportunity. The riding ranks are really competitive in Melbourne at the moment so to land a top chance in the Melbourne Cup this early, I couldn't be happier,” Oliver told Racing Pulse on Monday. The Robert Hickmott trained 8-year-old laid down an early marker for the race with a smooth win in a listed race over 2500m at Flemington on Saturday when he carried a welter burden of 61kg to a three length victory, a performance that prompted Saturday's winning rider Oliver to think the gelding has improved. “I think he has improved on last year. To be able to carry that weight and impose himself on a field like that.” Almandin defeated the ill-fated Heartbreak City (Fr) (Lando {Ger}) by just a head in the Melbourne Cup last year when partnered by Kerrin McEvoy, the pair pulling four lengths clear of Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}) and despite a significant increase on the weight he carried to victory last year Oliver feels Almandin's chance of a repeat victory is quite strong. “Going up 4.5kg on last year's weight he has to have improved to have a good chance in the Cup this year, but he's not racing like an eight-year-old that's for sure.”