Year: 2019

Jockey Damian Lane could become the first jockey to win the big four races in one year. Damian Lane is philosophical as he attempts to become the first jockey to complete the “grand slam” of Australian racing in one year by winning the $8 million Melbourne Cup. “What will be will be,” the 25-year-old said. “It’s not going to change how I ride or how the horse runs.” If he succeeds on Tuesday aboard Japanese stayer Mer De Glace, Lane will become the first jockey to win the big four…

Protesters will be outside Flemington amid the bustle of the ‘race that stops the nation’. Animal activists are expected to make themselves known outside the racecourse where thousands of people will watch the Melbourne Cup unfold in the flesh. The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses has planned a protest outside Flemington racecourse on Tuesday amid the bustle of the “race that stops the nation”. Two new drones will be used to monitor trains carrying more than 150,000 racegoers expected to take public transport to the event. Metro previously rented…

The Melbourne Cup THE FINAL WORD ON THE MELBOURNE CUP CONTENDERS 1. CROSS COUNTER: “It’s a hard race to win but we think we’ve got the best horse in the race, so we’ll take our chance. He’s a bigger, stronger horse than last year” – trainer Charlie Appleby’s foreman, Chris Connett. 2. MER DE GLACE: “I’m really confident in the horse I’m riding. We’ve drawn well. It would be nice if the rain slowed down. He hasn’t performed on a soft track before but we can’t control that. The 3200m…

Kerrin McEvoy will ride the Chris Waller-trained Finche in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Champion trainer Chris Waller is firming to win his first Melbourne Cup as Finche assumed favouritism on the eve of Australia’s most famous race. Japan’s Mer De Glace had been at the top of markets since drawing gate two in Saturday’s barrier draw but by late Monday he was displaced as favourite by Finche who was backed from $9.50 into $8. Along with Youngstar, Finche is one of two Cup runners for Waller and will be…

Jockey Damian Lane will make history if he adds the Melbourne Cup to his feature wins this year. From a homesick teenager who almost turned his back on Melbourne racing, 25-year-old Damian Lane is now on the verge of taking all before him in the showpiece spring carnival. On the eve of riding Japanese horse Mer De Glace in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup at Flemington, Lane is one race away from achieving an unprecedented feat. The jockey won the Golden Slipper in Sydney in March and more recently the Caulfield Cup…

Brett Prebble is chasing a second Melbourne Cup win after his victory on Green Moon in 2012. After a stellar career in Hong Kong, Brett Prebble is slowly adjusting to doing the hard yards back on Australian soil. Prebble admits it’s now hard to get a Cup ride but has an opportunity at a second win in Australia’s most famous race when he partners Steel Prince at Flemington on Tuesday. The jockey flew in from Hong Kong in 2012 to win on Green Moon for Lloyd and Nick Williams and…

Premier trainer Chris Waller rates import Finche as the best of his two Melbourne Cup runners. Racing purists turn away because the sport might be about to usher in a new grand slam. Historically, the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper have been revered as Australian racing’s ‘big four’ and that won’t change anytime soon. But trainer Chris Waller is on the verge of a trifecta of spring wins that symbolises the changing face of the industry. After preparing a record four Group One winners on a…

Frankie Dettori will ride Master Of Reality as he tries to end a run of outs in the Melbourne Cup. Frankie Dettori is famous for his exuberant personality and the controversies that have dotted his career, but mostly he is known for his riding skills. This year Dettori has won 18 Group One races thanks in no small part to trainer John Gosden and his stable including stars Enable and Stradivarius. One race to elude him is the Melbourne Cup and he will be back on Tuesday to try for…

‘Everybody wants to win a Melbourne Cup around the world,’ Winx part-owner Peter Tighe says. Champion mare Winx’s part-owner Peter Tighe is no different to anyone else with a share in a racehorse: he dreams of winning a Melbourne Cup. From Saudi Arabian royalty and the elite of world racing circles to ordinary English blokes, an Aussie who paid $5500 for a horse in an online auction and a rowdy mob of Kiwis, the dream is the same. “Everybody wants to win a Melbourne Cup around the world and we’re…