THE Victoria Racing Club's dream of making this year's 150th Melbourne Cup a vintage event took a significant turn for the better yesterday when Irish trainer Dermot Weld indicated that his mare Profound Beauty would be a likely runner in the $6 million race, reports The Age.It says: And if anyone can breathe international life into the Melbourne Cup, it is Weld. A previous winner of the race and one the most respected trainers in the world, his presence in Melbourne in November would add anothe

THE Victoria Racing Club's dream of making this year's 150th Melbourne Cup a vintage event took a significant turn for the better yesterday when Irish trainer Dermot Weld indicated that his mare Profound Beauty would be a likely runner in the $6 million race, reports The Age.

It says: And if anyone can breathe international life into the Melbourne Cup, it is Weld. A previous winner of the race and one the most respected trainers in the world, his presence in Melbourne in November would add another dimension to the Cup. As the international numbers continue to increase for the Caulfield and Melbourne cups, Leigh Jordan, Racing Victoria Ltd's general manager of racing operations, yesterday maintained that, apart from Weld, the overseas numbers expected in Melbourne were ''very healthy''.

Jordon believes that many international stables will follow Weld's lead. ''It's a special year with the 150th being run and I'm sure Dermot would want to be a part of it. Profound Beauty has been here before and started favourite. She has the credentials to be a genuine threat,'' Jordon said.

Profound Beauty made a winning start to her season with victory at Leopardstown in Ireland on Sunday. Sent out a 4-1 chance at Leopardstown, Profound Beauty strode past odds-on favourite Age Of Aquarius to win a 2800-metre listed race by half a length. ''Profound Beauty is a very good race mare and she may finish her career in the Melbourne Cup in November,'' Weld said after the win. ''The ground today was beautiful and she loved the surface.''

Profound Beauty missed last year's Melbourne Cup when her owner, Moyglare Stud, opted to keep her at home, fearing the ground would be too hard at Flemington. Weld said the mare would head to the Curragh Cup and the Irish St Leger on her way to the Melbourne Cup, for which she was quoted at 14-1 by William Hill.