That foreign invasion for the Melbourne Cup is building up - and there'll be more news arriving this weekend. Current situation: Across Europe and Asia, 7 horses are already in quarantine and Saturday night's Irish St Leger at the Curragh will probably determine if this number is increased. Three top Cup entrants will contest the Grp 1 race over 2800m. All are highly regarded - Profound Beauty ($3), Sans Frontieres ($3.75) and Tactic ($8). Wily old Dermot Weld has Profound Beauty, but whether s
That foreign invasion for the Melbourne Cup is building up - and there'll be more news arriving this weekend. Current situation: Across Europe and Asia, 7 horses are already in quarantine and Saturday night's Irish St Leger at the Curragh will probably determine if this number is increased. Three top Cup entrants will contest the Grp 1 race over 2800m. All are highly regarded - Profound Beauty ($3), Sans Frontieres ($3.75) and Tactic ($8). Wily old Dermot Weld has Profound Beauty, but whether she makes the long trip to Melbourne is not yet known.
Already in quarantine in Europe are the French horse Americain, Luca Cumani's pair Drunken Sailor and Manighar, as well as the lowly ranked Stanstill and Laristan, who is to be trained in Australia by David Hayes. In quarantine in Asia are Japanese galloper Tokai Trick and Hong Kong staying star Mr Medici. Americain, Manighar, Tokai Trick and Mr Medici are likely to run in the Caulfield Cup on October 16 before tackling the Melbourne Cup. Drunken Sailor is a Geelong Cup prospect, as are Stanstill and Laristan.
Lloyd Williams has yet another international contender in Illustrious Blue. He'll go into quarantine by the deadline date. LW's new purchase, Akzar is also going into quarantine. Sheikh Hamdan's mare Eastern Aria is tipped to become the first horse to earn a Melbourne Cup penalty after a Grp 2 win against her own sex at Doncaster, England, on Thursday night.