Final declarations have been made, and the field of 24 is now set for Tuesday's Group 1 Melbourne Cup, “the race that stops a nation.”
Eleven of the entrants are international raiders, led by Godolphin’s 2018 Melbourne Cup hero, Cross Counter. The Charlie Appleby trainee will be ridden by William Buick.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien will saddle three in the race: Magic Wand (Ryan Moore), Hunting Horn (Seamie Heffernan) and Il Paradiso (Wayne Lordan). His son, Joseph, who won the 2017 Cup with Rekindling, will be represented by four runners: Latrobe (James McDonald), Twilight Payment (Hugh Bowman), Master of Reality (Frankie Dettori) and Downdraft (John Allen). Downdraft earned his spot in the line up after winning the Hotham Handicap (G3) on Saturday, so he will wheel back on three day’s rest.
Richard Hannon Jr. will be represented by Raymond Tusk (Jamie Spencer), and trainer Charlie Fellows has Prince Of Arran (Michael Walker) set to go. Japan will be represented by Caulfield Cup (G1) winner, Mer De Glace (Damian Lane).
Mer De Glace and Constantinople (formerly trained by Aidan O’Brien) are co-morning line favorites.
