Melbourne Cup

In the lead up to this year's Breeders' and Melbourne Cups, PET and CT units have been at the crux of dashed dreams, with several horses scratched from these contests due to unsatisfactory PET and CT scans. But how do veterinarians decide what's satisfactory and what isn't? It's in the last few years these technologies have emerged at the cutting edge of efforts to determine the root cause of subtle lameness in racehorses. This period has proven a fast learning curve for diagnosticians--just ask Ryan Carpenter, a SoCal-based vet who...

Aidan O'Brien's Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has been ruled out of the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup after failing a pre-race veterinary check. The unbeaten St Leger winner had been among the ante-post favourites in his quest to provide O'Brien with a first victory in 'the race that stops a nation' at Flemington next week, but Ballydoyle will now be without a runner in the race as a result of the ruling made by the Racing Victoria Stewards. A statement from Racing Victoria said, "Racing Victoria Stewards, acting on specialist...

With over 100 horses boasting Timeform ratings of 100 or greater in a catalogue that includes high-quality drafts from Coolmore, Juddmonte and Shadwell, is it any wonder that buyers flock from all over the world to get in on the action at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale? If there is one jurisdiction that has flexed its buying power more than any other at this sale in recent years it's Australia. And it's easy to see why. In the past decade alone, 13 Group 1 races have been won Down Under...

Brian Ellison's Northumberland Plate winner Onesmoothoperator (Dialed In) put himself in contention for a tilt at the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup with an emphatic victory in the G3 Geelong Cup on Wednesday. Four horses have completed the Geelong Cup-Melbourne Cup double, with the first being Dunaden (Fr) for Mikel Delzangles in 2011. Onesmoothoperator needed to pick up a penalty at Geelong to be guaranteed a run at Flemington on Tuesday, November 4, but Ellison can now look forward to saddling another runner in 'the race that stops a nation' after...

All season we seem to have been marvelling at 'another brilliant ride by Ryan Moore.' But the man himself chuckles at the idea that this has been a special year for him. "I suppose looking back there've been good days, but you only remember the last day," he says. "We didn't win the Arc - so it doesn't feel satisfying at the moment." As he says it, he really is laughing at how a recent disappointment can obscure the glories. This is life in the super-elite of world sport, where...

Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), the beaten favourite in last year's G1 Melbourne Cup, is reported to have settled in well at the quarantine facility in Werribee as he warms up for a second assault on the race on Tuesday, November 5, with connections hoping the busier campaign he's had in 2024 will ensure that he arrives at Flemington in peak condition. Trained by Willie Mullins, Vauban was having his first start for three months when finishing down the field behind Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in 2023, but this...

Harry Eustace is plotting a two-pronged assault on some of Australia's biggest races with Docklands (GB) (Massaat {Ire}) and Sea King (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). Being owned by Australian-based syndication company OTI Racing, Docklands was always slated for a trip to the Southern Hemisphere. Last year's Britannia Stakes winner has performed with credit in some high-class contests this season, notably when returning to Royal Ascot to fill the runner-up spot behind Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes. Sea King was last seen finishing a...

Eighty of the 123 horses nominated for this year's G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup were bred in Europe. Only 18 of that group are still in training in either Britain, Ireland or France. Aidan O'Brien, who has not had a runner in the race since 2020, when Tiger Moth (Ire) finished runner-up to Twilight Payment (Ire), trained by his son Joseph, has six entered, led by the G2 Queen's Vase winner Illinois (Ire). Meanwhile his fellow Irishman Willie Mullins is planning to send back last year's favourite, the recent G2 Lonsdale...

Michelle Payne, who became a global sensation when partnering 100-1 outsider Prince Of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) to a memorable triumph in the 2015 Melbourne Cup, has officially retired from the saddle.  A winner of 772 races throughout her career, Payne will now switch her attention to training winners rather than riding them.  "I've handed in my license so that's it for me," Payne told justhorseracing.com.au. "It was a tough decision to come to and obviously took a lot of time to decide on. But I've achieved my biggest dream...

The Lexus Melbourne Cup will be at Naas Racecourse during the €300,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes Day, on Monday, Aug. 5. Besides celebrating the iconic Australian race, the course will also venerate the legacy of Kildare man Robert Cooper Bagot, whose contributions helped shape one of the world's greatest races, and the experience of the Melbourne Cup. "The Race That Stops a Nation" will be run for the 164th time this year, and will offer prize-money of A$8.4 million. The trophy itself is valued at A$750,000. The trophy travels 110,000...

After lighting up Royal Ascot, a tilt at the Melbourne Cup could be on the cards for Crystal Black (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), with Ireland's reigning champion jockey Colin Keane explaining how the gelding has provided his father "with a new lease of life" after a horror fall in 2021 almost left the trainer paralysed.  The celebrations that followed Crystal Black's victory in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Ascot went unrivalled as the Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate who own the former Dermot Weld-trained inmate burst into song in the...

Ascot Racecourse and the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) have signed a new strategic partnership this week, acknowledging the unique ties between the two "sister" tracks, it was announced on Tuesday. The signatories are Ascot chairman and His Majesty's representative, Sir Francis Brooke, and Neil Wilson, chairman of the Victoria Racing Club. Both courses stage their nations' premier Flat meetings and they work together on various race planning initiatives, which have led to multiple runners in the Royal Ascot sprints from Australia and numerous runners in the Melbourne Cup and other...