Kings Valley, So You Are and Soulcombe are among the horses using today's Bendigo Cup to try to force their way into next Tuesday's Melbourne Cup field.
Today's Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2400m) is the last chance for horses outside the top 24 to improve their spot on the Melbourne Cup order of entry. The $500,000 race is due off at 4.55pm.
Final acceptances for the Melbourne Cup close at 4.30pm this Saturday, 31 October, so anything that wants a run next Tuesday needs to make its case this afternoon.
The horses chasing a Cup start
- Kings Valley (Ciaron Maher, Ethan Brown, 57kg) – fifth in the Caulfield Cup and second in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, but still only 36th on the order of entry. He is the clear favourite and likely needs to win.
- So You Are (Bjorn Baker, Rachel King, 58.5kg) – on a three-race winning streak that includes the ATC St Leger. He sat 28th and draws barrier one.
- The Euphrates (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, Jett Stanley, 60kg) – Kingston Town Stakes winner and third in the Metropolitan. He is the closest to getting in at 25th, but was disappointing in the Geelong Cup.
- Litzdeel (Danny O'Brien, Damian Lane, 54.5kg) – second in the Bart Cummings and fifth in the Geelong Cup, and 33rd in the order.
- Soulcombe (Chris Waller, Nash Rawiller, 57.5kg) – second in the 2023 Melbourne Cup, now 39th. A top-three finish today could lift him back into the top 24.
Other runners
Joseph O'Brien's Starford (Ben Melham) and Dan O'Sullivan's Berkeley Square are the topweights, and Craig Williams rides See That Storm for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr. Williams has already locked in his Melbourne Cup ride on O'Brien's James J Braddock.
What it means for the Cup
Ciaron Maher already has eight horses inside the top 24, so a Kings Valley win would add to the biggest team in the race. Remember that a Bendigo result moves a horse up the order rather than guaranteeing a run. Whether it gets in still depends on what happens to the horses above it, and the final field won't be clear until Saturday afternoon.
For punters, the main thing to weigh up is the backup. Running in a hard 2400m race six days before a 3200m Cup is a big ask, so look at how strongly a horse finishes today, not just where it finishes. Our Melbourne Cup horses page has the form on every contender.
FREE: The 2026 Melbourne Cup Guide – the clues that find Cup winners, our betting plan and the horses to watch.