Melbourne Cup

He has been crowned British racing's best broadcaster of the year an astounding eight times but Nick Luck remains as hungry as ever. From talking about the success of his daily podcast, the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, revealing that he will make his Melbourne Cup debut this year and providing his own thoughts on the major issues affecting British racing, Luck makes for fascinating reading in this week's Q&A. Brian Sheerin: You sat down with Lee Mottershead for the Big Read in the Racing Post almost two years ago. A...

One thousand winners and counting. Joseph O'Brien passed yet another important milestone in his training career on Saturday when Al Riffa (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) became his 1,000th winner in the opening seven-furlong maiden at the Curragh. And what style it was achieved in. Al Riffa, who emerged as a major eye-catcher when staying on for second in a Curragh maiden last month, showed the benefit of that initial outing to confirm himself a potential top-notcher in the making. It was just over six years ago when O'Brien enjoyed a...

An exciting career awaits in Australia but, before Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) joins Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott down under, he will be prepared by George Boughey for an ambitious tilt at the St Leger at Doncaster.  Trained by Andrew Balding to split Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at Epsom, Hoo Ya Mal was subsequently snapped up by his new connections for a whopping £1.2million at the Goffs London Sale.  While races like the Melbourne Cup are what Hoo Ya Mal...

Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) could make her first European start in August as her new trainer Francis-Henri Graffard revealed he is considering a bid for the G1 Prix Rothschild at Deauville. A sensation in Australia, Verry Elleegant won 11 Group 1 races--including the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup--under the care of Chris Waller before it was announced in May that she would continue her career in France.  The G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the G1 Fillies & Mares Stakes on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot were...

G1 Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) will join Francis Graffard in France with a view towards targeting the major races in Europe this season, the connections of the Australian ace have announced. An 11-time Group 1 winner, Verry Elleegant has netted her connections over £8 million and was described by Chris Waller, the man who managed her glittering career in Australia, as an "honour" to be associated with. The statement from the ownership group was released on Thursday, and it read, "Being part of a champion racehorse...

Team Valor and Gary Barber's Spanish Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) has survived a last-minute veterinary scare to be given the all-clear to line up for Tuesday's G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup, for which he has drawn stall 14.  Trained by Andrew Balding, the 5-year-old was found to have swelling in a leg on Friday but has subsequently been passed fit by the Racing Victoria vets. With Craig Williams booked to ride, Spanish Mission is second-favourite for Australia's most famous staying contest behind the G1 Caulfield Cup winner Incentivise (Aus) (Shamus Award...

Ismail Mohammed's G1 Goodwood Cup runner-up Away He Goes (Ire) (Farhh {GB}) has been ruled out of the Nov. 2 G1 Melbourne Cup with a tendon injury. The 5-year-old gelding, who is owned by Khalifa Saeed Sulaiman, was second to the star stayer Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) in the July 27 Goodwood Cup prior to finishing seventh in the Ebor H. Earlier in the season, he had hit the board in Meydan's G2 Dubai Gold Cup. "To some extent it was good that it was picked up so early but...

Treble Group 2 winner Marmelo (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) will stand in Britain at Norton Grove Stud in 2022. The 2018 G1 Melbourne Cup runner-up has spent the last two seasons in France at Haras du Grand Courgeon. Bred by Deepwood Farm Stud, the 8-year-old won seven of his 22 starts, with six of those wins coming in stakes company. He showed a particular penchant for France, winning the G2 Prix Kergorlay twice, the G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil, and the G3 Prix de Barbeville. Reflecting on his four-season...

Defending G1 Melbourne Cup winner Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB})'s full-brother Sir Lucan (Ire) and G1 Goodwood Cup runner-up Away He Goes (Ire) (Farhh {GB}) have entered quarantine for trips to the Melbourne Spring Carnival. The Joseph-O'Brien-trained Twilight Payment won the G3 Irish St Leger Trial on Aug. 13 and finished second in the G1 Irish St Leger two weeks ago, and he will pre-quarantine in Ireland for two weeks before shipping Down Under. Sir Lucan, who will remain in Australia and join Gai Waterhouse...

Master horseman Jim Bolger may have been ensconced in Ireland during this weekend's Guineas Festival, but his influence was felt far and wide across the Rowley Mile. The fact that Bolger bred, trained and raced the 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire})-in addition to the small feat of breeding his sire and first two dams and training his grandsire and third dam-has been well documented in the following days. But Bolger's fingerprints were likewise on the G1 1000 Guineas the next day: he had trained the winner...

Trainer Charlie Fellowes said he fears changes to the qualification criteria, mainly for overseas runners, for the Melbourne Cup will make it "nigh on impossible" for European-trained horses to compete in Australia's most famous race. The Melbourne Cup has come under increased pressure in recent years after a series of high-profile breakdowns in The Race That Stops A Nation, with international challengers seemingly disproportionately afflicted. As such, the number of international horses at the Werribee International Quarantine Centre will be limited to 24 (it was 42 in 2018). International shippers...

Godolphin's 2018 G1 Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) will have the Australian showpiece as a target once again in 2021 as the gelding stays in training with Charlie Appleby as a 6-year-old. "Off the back of Twilight Payment winning the Melbourne Cup at the age of seven, hopefully there is still a bit of life left in Cross Counter," Appleby said. "To win the Melbourne Cup as 3-year-old is a tough gig to do. He went back and put up another good performance in the race last...