Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien was happy with barrier 10 for Melbourne Cup favourite Septimus but not so happy with the firmness of the Flemington track on Saturday.O'Brien stopped short of saying Septimus would not run if the track was too hard and said he put his faith in the track curators and also the predicted wet weather before Tuesday's race."Septimus is a very special horse and we have to protect him," O'Brien said."He is a top-class horse.The top-class horse is the $4.50 favourite for the
Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien was happy with barrier 10 for Melbourne Cup favourite Septimus but not so happy with the firmness of the Flemington track on Saturday.
O'Brien stopped short of saying Septimus would not run if the track was too hard and said he put his faith in the track curators and also the predicted wet weather before Tuesday's race.
"Septimus is a very special horse and we have to protect him," O'Brien said.
"He is a top-class horse.
The top-class horse is the $4.50 favourite for the Melbourne Cup (3200m) with eight Europeans in the 24-horse field.
O'Brien has three runners with Honolulu ($34) drawing the outside alley while Alessandro Volta ($41) drew gate 11.
Second favourite Mad Rush ($5) from the Luca Cumani stable drew barrier four while stablemate Bauer, winner of the Geelong Cup, drew 13.
While the international contingent is strong, Australia's greatest living trainer Bart Cummings who has won 11 Cups, has two runners to try to thwart the challenge.
The Cummings-trained Viewed was joined by stablemate Moatize after he qualified by winning Saturday's Saab Quality.
Moatize drew barrier 19 while Viewed, another who likes a wet track, came up with nine.
Clare Lindop, who made history on Saturday with her Victoria Derby win on Rebel Raider, will ride Moatize who has just 50kg in the Cup.
Profound Beauty ($8), trained by Irishman Dermot Weld, will jump from barrier two and has the services of Glen Boss who won three Cups aboard champion mare Makybe Diva.
Weld has won the Cup twice - with Vintage Crop in 1993 and Media Puzzle in 2002 - and remains the only European to win the race.
Caulfield Cup runner-up, New Zealander Nom Du Jeu, is the most favoured of the southern hemisphere horses at $9 and will start from barrier one.
C'es La Guerre ($15), the winner of the New Zealand Derby who was bought by Lloyd Williams earlier this year drew gate five and is one of two runners for the stable with Zipping ($21) to jump from gate 16.
Williams was forced to withdraw last year's winner Efficient last week due to injury.
Trainers Anthony Cummings and Paul Perry took the gamble not to run their respective horses, Red Lord and Newport, in the Saab Quality and it paid off with both safely in the field.