The 2021 Melbourne Cup has almost arrived.
The ‘Race That Stops the Nation’ jumps at 3pm AEDT on Tuesday with 24 runners set to thunder around two miles at Flemington.
In a bid to help you find the winner, here is a snapshot of the horses at the top of the market.
Incentivise
There’s no doubt he’s the deserved favourite, but is $2.70 too short?
The five-year-old, trained by Peter Moody, heads to the Melbourne Cup on the back of a breath-taking win in the Caulfield Cup and has been penalised 1.5kg for that performance, taking him to 57kg.
The gelding has drawn barrier 16, which isn’t ideal, however jockey Brett Prebble will no doubt allow him to cruise forward and sit just off the obvious leader in Twilight Payment.
To be honest, if he runs the trip (3200m) he’ll just win, simple as that.
Spanish Mission
If you listened to Craig Williams on SEN Track’s Bensley, you’d be backing this horse off his glowing report of this international galloper.
It seems crazy that a horse that has form around champion stayer Stradivarius is $10 and this Andrew Balding trained galloper no doubt has the strongest form lines in this year’s Cup.
The main knock is that his preparation since arriving in Australia has been far from ideal with constant vet checks causing genuine concern for the punters.
If he’s 100 per cent fit he will be the one challenging Incentivise in the final stages of the race.
Twilight Payment
The 2020 Melbourne Cup winner is aiming to make it back-to-back wins in the greatest race in the world.
He won last year’s edition with 55.5kg and because of that win, will carry 58kg.
The nine-year-old will be setting the tone up the front and will no doubt look the winner at some point in the straight but whether he can sustain the sectionals that he did last year with that weight is the big concern.
Floating Artist
This six-year-old is in great form but is he out of his depth in the mighty Melbourne Cup?
He hit the line strongly last start which tells you he’ll appreciate the trip (3200m) and he gets the bottom weight (50kg), has drawn perfectly in barrier 10 and his jockey Teodore Nugent will allow him to sit perfectly in the middle of the field.
You can’t ignore a stayer trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
Tralee Rose
Your 2021 Geelong Cup winner is definitely a galloper with a lot of improvement.
She’s had one attempt at the distance (3200m) and was very disappointing in the Adelaide Cup, so that’s a concern for punters.
Has had a great preparation and is ready to peak here on Tuesday, has drawn perfectly in 12 and with 51kg, jockey Dean Holland will be able to put this mare wherever he wants.
Verry Elleegant
She draws to get a hassle-free run from barrier 19 where she can sit in the middle of the field. She’s a genuine superstar and is ready to peak here.
Bit worried about the good 4 track given her best runs are on soft tracks but she’s a champion so I can’t dismiss her.
Regular rider James McDonald is back on board and will no doubt be charging home from the back of the field.
SELECTIONS
- INCENTIVISE (2)
- SPANISH MISSION (3)
- VERRY ELLEEGANT (4)
- FLOATING ARTIST (22)
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