DUAL classic-winning mare Shamrocker takes her first step on Saturday towards fulfilling her trainer Danny O'Brien's prediction that she could be the next Melbourne Cup winner, reports The Age. It says: Ranked as the Melbourne Cup second favourite at $12 behind fellow four-year-old mare Lights Of Heaven, the Australian Guineas and AJC Derby winner kicks off with her first weight-for-age run in the group 2 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield. ''The Memsie is obviously not a big sprint target, being 1400 m

DUAL classic-winning mare Shamrocker takes her first step on Saturday towards fulfilling her trainer Danny O'Brien's prediction that she could be the next Melbourne Cup winner, reports The Age.

It says: Ranked as the Melbourne Cup second favourite at $12 behind fellow four-year-old mare Lights Of Heaven, the Australian Guineas and AJC Derby winner kicks off with her first weight-for-age run in the group 2 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield.

''The Memsie is obviously not a big sprint target, being 1400 metres at Caulfield first-up,'' O'Brien said. ''While I'm certainly not expecting that she will win, it is the right stepping stone for a race like the 1800-metre Underwood [Stakes] where, second-up, she should be able to challenge. Her preparation so far has been absolutely perfect, so let's hope it continues right the way through.'' (www.theage.com.au).