Tuesday sees another intriguing renewal of our greatest horse race, the Melbourne Cup.
24 horses, born in 8 different countries will strive for a share of $6.2m. For connections of those participating, their dreams will be realised or shattered in about 200 seconds. The roller-coaster of emotions they might experience over that short period is quite difficult to imagine.
As always, lining up form lines from all of these different countries appears somewhat problematic, although it won't stop the majority of the nation trying!
Now to the shortlist:
Local hope Signoff scraped into the Cup field at the 11th hour with an authoritative win in the Lexus on Derby Day. The winner of that race earns automatic entry into the Cup field and because he bypassed the normal pecking order in gaining a start, he has next to no weight to carry. Those extra kilograms can often be the difference between winning and losing at the end of a tough two miles!
His 'knockabout' country trainer Darren Weir looks to have Signoff peaking at the right time which makes the $8 currently available on the betting trading platform, Betfair, decidedly appealing.
The most successful overseas raiders in recent times have been those who've had a lead-up run in Australia. A positive local lead-up performance not only demonstrates that a horse has acclimatised to our native conditions, but that they can handle tracks which are firmer than those they're generally accustomed to.
German raider Protectionist (also $8) is one who ticks this box. He ran a slashing Cup trial during the Caulfield carnival and steps out to a more suitable trip on Tuesday. Being lightly raced (only 9 starts), it may well be that the handicapper hasn't quite caught up with him yet. He's the obvious danger.
Champion Sydney trainer Chris Waller had a day out on Derby day winning 2 of the 4 Group Ones on offer. He saddles up 3 runners on Tuesday but the one that appeals as the best roughie in the race is Opinion ($67). Opinion is a proven 3,200m stayer — he ran 2nd in this year's Sydney Cup — and looked to be trending well before failing to handle the tight Moonee Valley circuit on Cox Plate day. He's well worth a small interest each-way at his current price.
Notable exclusions from my top 3 include Admire Rakti (impressive Japanese winner of the Caulfield Cup but will have to defy recent history to carry this weight and win), Mutual Regard (won a key UK lead-up race in August but I'd like to have seen him run locally) and Cavalryman (it's only a matter of time before Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation wins a Cup after saddling several place getters).
Lewy's Cup Trifecta
24. Signoff
5. Protectionist
20. Opinion
Good luck!
