G1 Melbourne Cup

Tuesday, Flemington, Australia, post time: 15:00 (04:00 GMT/23:00 ET {Monday}), LEXUS MELBOURNE CUP-G1, A$10,000,000, 3yo/up, 16fT Field: Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Buckaroo (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Arapaho (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), Chevalier Rose (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Presage Nocturne (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Middle Earth (GB) (Roaring Lion), Meydaan (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Absurde (Fr) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Flatten The Curve (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), Land Legend (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}), Smokin' Romans (NZ) (Ghibellines {Aus}), Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Half Yours (Aus) (St Jean {Ire}),...

Fully 10,000 miles from their birthplace at Tweenhills Farm and Stud, Qatar Racing homebreds Buckaroo, Middle Earth and Valiant King now face the most important two-mile test of their lives on Tuesday, with a place in history assured should one of them reach its end as a Melbourne Cup winner. From the lush paddocks of Tweenhills to the manicured turf of Flemington, it's been quite the journey, both literally and figuratively. Between them the trio amassed 27 starts in Europe - Buckaroo and Valiant King with Joseph O'Brien, Middle Earth...

A week out from the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup, the Australian Bloodstock team is increasingly confident that it has both the right horse and the right man for the job, having put its faith in the Joseph O'Brien-trained Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett). The syndicate will be seeking a third success in 'the race that stops a nation', having previously lifted the famous trophy after the wins of Andreas Wohler's Protectionist in 2014 and the ex-French runner Gold Trip in 2022. This year the Australian Bloodstock colours will be strongly represented...

Favoured for the G1 Melbourne Cup next month, two-time Group 1 winner Sir Delius (Frankel) has been ruled out of both the G1 Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup by Racing Victoria stewards due to a heightened injury profile. Owned by a partnership that includes Go Bloodstock Australia, the four-year-old colt has run first or second in all four runs Down Under. A winner of Doomben's G3 JRA Chairman's Handicap in May, he was second in the G2 Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick last month. Successful in the G1 Underwood Stakes next,...

Classic winner Scandinavia will not travel Down Under for a G1 Melbourne Cup engagement in November, trainer Aidan O'Brien revealed. The son of Justify, fresh off consecutive victories in the G1 Goodwood Cup and the G1 St Leger, will head to winter quarters instead with an eye to Royal Ascot's G1 Gold Cup in June. O'Brien told the PA news agency of the Coolmore partners' runner, "He's not going [to Australia], he's finished for the year and will be trained for the Gold Cup next year." Placed twice from three...

'TDN Rising Star' Parchment Party (Constitution) slid on his duck boots and ran on nicely after making the GII Belmont Gold Cup as a 'main track only' entrant. With significant rainfall in the offing during the afternoon, the race was reduced one level when it was taken off the grass and cutback from two miles to one and three-quarters. Still, entries were prepared to chase the 'Golden Ticket' which offered the victor an automatic berth in the Nov. 4 running of the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup worth more than AUD...

LAMBOURN, UK -- Nicky Henderson has reiterated that connections of Palladium (Ger) have Melbourne Cup ambitions for last year's G1 Deutsches Derby hero, who is first set to continue his hurdling career in the G1 Triumph Hurdle at next month's Cheltenham Festival. The race that stops a nation might not have been uppermost in Henderson's thoughts on Monday morning, as he welcomed the media to his Seven Barrows base to provide the lowdown on his formidable squad for the four-day extravaganza at Prestbury Park, but it was clear that a...

by Kristen Manning/The Thoroughbred Report Extreme Choice (Aus) made history in the 2024 G1 Melbourne Cup by siring the longshot Knight's Choice (Aus), who stunned as Australia's top stayer. For Sheila Laxon, the first official female trainer to win a Melbourne Cup with Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm) in 2001, this victory marked a triumphant return to Flemington with her husband, John Symons. Owners Cameron Bain, Richard and Kaye Waldron watched their A$85,000 purchase become a A$5.8 million champion, realising breeder Norm Bazeley's vision, who originally acquired Knight's Choice's dam, Midnight Pearl...

Globetrotting multiple Group 1 winner Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) will skip next week's G1 Melbourne Cup and instead target the G1 Champions Stakes during the Australian autumn, Yulong's Sam Fairgray revealed on Wednesday. A title defence of the G1 Cox Plate is also in the offing for next October. Originally a 5,000gns Tattersalls December yearling purchase, the bay would go on to take the G1 Pretty Polly Stakes before changing hands for 2,700,000gns at the 2023 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. Now racing for Yusheng Zhang's Yulong in Australia,...

Racing Victoria will not compromise on the welfare of horses for the G1 Melbourne Cup after there was plenty of publicity about the scratching of Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), they announced on Wednesday. "I don't think the reaction's necessarily surprising," EGM - Integrity Jamie Stier told racing.com. "When the protocols were implemented, it was understood that not everyone was in agreement and was made known that they were not in agreement. And that is as it is, but the protocols were put in place to mitigate any risks that...

Sea The Stars (Ire)'s Sea King (GB) punched his ticket to the G1 Melbourne Cup next Tuesday when winning the G3 Bendigo Cup by 3 1/4 lengths on Wednesday (video). The 5-year-old took over prior to the home straight and forged clear to defeat Berkeley Square (Ire) (Territories {Ire}) in the 2400-metre feature. "It's incredibly exciting. A lot was riding on it, it's the last win-and-you're-in for the Cup, so it's an absolute dream result today," trainer Harry Eustace told racenet.com.au. "I'd just like to thank (syndicator) Terry (Henderson) ......

Delta Blues (Jpn), who made history by becoming the first Japanese horse to win the Melbourne Cup, has died at the age of 24. Old Friends Japan, where the gelding had lived out his later years of retirement, announced on Wednesday that he had "died due to complications from laminitis". The Northern Farm-bred son of Dance In The Dark (Jpn) was trained by Katsuhiko Sumii and landed his first major win in his home country in the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) of 2004. He was also third behind...