Virtuous Circle is set to hand his trainer, Liam Howley his first ever runner in a Melbourne Cup.
The four-year-old son of Almanzor boasts a runner-up finish in the Group 1 Australian Derby as a three-year-old and will be looking to cause a major upset on the first Tuesday in November.
Let’s take a look at Virtuous Circle’s chances in the 2023 Melbourne Cup.
When will Virtuous Circle run in the Melbourne Cup?
The Melbourne Cup will be run on the first Tuesday in November at Flemington in front of a sold out crowd.
The one thing that hasn’t changed about the 2023 Melbourne Cup is the horses.
Once again The Cup has brought together an elite field of Melbourne Cup horses to contest the two mile race for $8.41 million.
Virtuous Circle (6)
- Age: 4YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Horse
- Sire: Almanzor (FR)
- Dam: She Is Stryking
Win: +6600
Place: +1300
Best odds at Dabble
Career stats for Virtuous Circle
- Career: 13: 2-2-1
- Flemington: 3: 0-0-0
- Distance: 0: 0-0-0
- Good: 9: 1-0-0
- Wet: 4: 1-2-1
- Group 1: 3: 0-1-0
- Win %: 15%
- Place %: 38%
Melbourne Cup results for Virtuous Circle
The 2023 Melbourne Cup will be Virtuous Circle’s debut run in the prestigious Group 1 Melbourne Cup.
Recent Form for Virtuous Circle
| Date | Race | Track | Distance | Placing | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Odds | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | Geelong Cup | Geelong | 2400m | 8/13 | Damian Lane | 4 | 55kg | $5 | 4.6L |
| Oct 7 | The Bart Cummings | Flemington | 2520m | 10/16 | Damian Lane | 6 | 57.5kg | $21 | 3.6L |
| Sep 23 | Naturalism Stakes | Caulfield | 2000m | 9/16 | Billy Egan | 6 | 55.5kg | $61 | – |
| Sep 9 | Feehan Stakes | Moonee Valley | 1600m | 12/13 | Mark Zahra | 2 | 58.5kg | $41 | 12.5L |
Can Virtuous Circle win the 2023 Melbourne Cup?
The Liam Howley-trained Virtuous Circle hands his trainer a first Melbourne Cup starter, but that looks to be as positive a sign we can find for him. He has been beaten a combined 22 lengths in four runs this campaign and he was only fair going to the line the Geelong Cup when beaten 4.6 lengths. This is much harder obviously and considering he needs to make up a stack of ground on his rivals from the Geelong Cup and then again on some genuine Group 1 stayers, it is easy to see why he is such a big price.
Watch Virtuous Circle Finish 2nd in the 2023 Australian Derby
READ ALSO:
- 2023 MELBOURNE CUP BEGINNERS GUIDE
- BEST MELBOURNE CUP BETTING SITES
