Craig Newitt has picked up one of the few remaining rides in the $8.4 million Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) aboard Virtuous Circle.
Newitt, 38, will have his first raceday sit aboard the New Zealand-bred son of Almanzor on Tuesday after the stable took the Gr.1 ATC Derby (2400m) placegetter to Bendigo for a track gallop on Thursday morning.
It will be Newitt’s eleventh Melbourne Cup ride with 100/1 chance Harris Tweed’s fifth placing in 2009 the closest he has come to victory.
Virtuous Circle will carry 51 kilograms and is also rated a $101 chance.
It will be Liam Howley’s first runner in the Melbourne Cup and has prepared the entire from Macedon Lodge which has been synonymous with the first Tuesday in November.
Virtuous Circle enjoyed little luck in the Bart Cummings before finishing eighth in the Geelong Cup last start.
The Chris Waller-trained Sheraz is the only horse in the top 24 horses in order of entry who have not declared a rider.
