Racing Melbourne Cup 2023 ( no after the fact posts)

Melbourne Cup winner??

  • 2.ALENQUER(9) - Damien Oliver

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 8.RIGHT YOU ARE(15) - John Allen

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 13.OKITA SOUSHI(20) - Dylan Gibbons (a)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 14.SHERAZ(22) - Beau Mertens

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 16.MAGICAL LAGOON(7) - Mark Du Plessis

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 19.VIRTUOUS CIRCLE(6) - Craig Newitt

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 22.INTERPRETATION(17) - Teo Nugent

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 23.KALAPOUR(14) - Zac Lloyd (a)

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    99
  • Poll closed .

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Post Caulfield Cup rankings

1A. GOLD TRIP - Really good run in the Caulfield Cup beating everything bar the winner heading this way comfortably. Expect Flemington to suit him a lot better and presume he meets WAF slightly better at the weights now heading there. Has the class and is already proven running out a strong 2 miles in the Melbourne Cup. All going to be weather dependent as to whether he is the top seed or not. If the track has give in it then it really improves his chances and puts the slows on his main rivals.

1B. WITHOUT A FIGHT - Brilliant winner of the Caulfield Cup. Had a couple lengths on Gold Trip and 5 lengths + on everything else heading this way so very hard to see anything else bar GT being able to turn the tables at Flemington. Technically he is unproven at the trip but with 2800m form in England the expectation is that shouldn't be a problem out here. His wheels don't spin on a wet surface though so if we have a soft track then its almost rule a line territory. Firm track though and he is the one to beat.

3. SOULCOMBE - Complete barrier rogue. Walked out 8 lengths behind them in the Caulfield Cup and ran really well considering. Made up good ground in that race through the 800-600 and was on the back of WAF and GT but then got crowded for a bit of room in the straight before plugging home reasonably. I think 2 miles at Flemington will suit him perfectly and that was a decent Cup trial all things considered but he is just consistently shit at the barriers and is just getting worse so no reason to think he wont miss the kick poorly at Flemington again and have to pass the whole field.

4. VAUBAN - Valiant King didn't exactly frank the form at Caulfield but he finished around these sort of horses and Vauban did beat him pretty comfortably by a couple lengths so would expect him to be in this sort of area still.

5. BREAKUP - Average at best Caulfield Cup run and he just didnt seem fast enough or good enough to sustain speed over 2400m. I expect the bigger Flemington track and the 2 miles to both be better suited for him but not by enough to be able to make up the difference on those already rated ahead of him.

Doesn't seem any point in going beyond this for winning chances for me. It was a strong Caulfield Cup and that is THE form race for Flemington with the other lead ups looking pretty lackluster. For the sake of looking deeper ill just round out the list with the best roughies for the back end of exotics.

ASHRUN - Currently $120 was one of the better runs out of the Bart Cummings. Off the scene for pretty much 2 years his first up run this prep was really good sitting 3WNC and getting beat 3.75L over 1700m. Backed that up in the Bart Cummings running on really well from last clocking the best last 800, 600 and 400 whilst giving away 5kg to the first two.

DAQUIANSWEET JUNIOR - Currently $101. As previously stated in this thread he is basically on the same prep as last year where he ran a credible 6th in the Cup and gets in nice and light in the weights. His 3200m form in this country is good and generally runs above market expectations when getting out to a trip so can see him running past some more tired horses at the end.

SPANISH MISSION - Currently $65. As said above he had been pegged as an out and out 2 miler since he got here and he has had 6 runs since that Spring for 5 goes at 2000m or less and one go at 2400m on a wet track which he doesn't go on. He is older, locally trained and had injuries so obviously not near his best but he has a lot more class potential than anything else in the dregs and his last start Turnbull 8th has a lot of merit crossing the line with most of these types.

VIRTUOUS CIRCLE - Currently $55. Had no luck in the Bart Cummings when running into traffic everywhere. Think he finishes considerably closer with luck and meets most of that field better of fat the weights should they meet again at Flemington.

MORE FELONS - Currently $300. For the plays tall believers. Yet to be seen but on his European form he isn't really any worse off than a lot of others also making up the numbers and he is a considerably better price than most of them. He will stay the 2 miles no problems and gets in light at the weights. For comparison he took on Absurde in the Ebor in their last race start before coming here and he was 14/1 vs 7/1 in that race carrying basically a kilo more and now meets him 3.5kg better off for a 3 length defeat in that race so I think id rather spec MF at 15x the price.


Trouble with a lot of the roughies though is they are on the day F4 add ons and if they run well before the Cup the odds will likely be gone and if they run like shit you probably dont want to be with them...
 
Times are pointless but using last 600 sectionals in an 1800m race to find Cup winner is taking things to the absurd especially when this was a total barrier trial.

Easily the number one seed if lobbing dry and a horse like Vauban is not getting near him with only 0.5 kg off.

Soulcombe is this years Delphi. Couple of nice runs and people will get sucked into him with the weight drop but will be beaten by better class horses on the day.

Zero chance WAF sits that far off him in the Caulfield Cup
“Soulcombe is this years Delphi” that was very good 🤣🤣
 

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Just Fine getting into a disgustingly short price now after struggling to put away Spirit Ridge despite getting 2.5kg from it and getting the dream run on its back the whole way
Still set a course record and race record today though. Spirit ridge was grossly underrated by many despite placing in its last 4 starts.

Nothing else was within 4 lengths of them.
 
Still set a course record and race record today though. Spirit ridge was grossly underrated by many despite placing in its last 4 starts.

Nothing else was within 4 lengths of them.


The fact a horse like Spirit Ridge has basically run even better just shows how little overall times actually mean though. Its run to a consistent level its last half a dozen races this prep and would be 500-1 in a Melbourne Cup. It hasn't suddenly found 8 lengths this deep into a prep as an 8yo
 
The fact a horse like Spirit Ridge has basically run even better just shows how little overall times actually mean though. Its run to a consistent level its last half a dozen races this prep and would be 500-1 in a Melbourne Cup. It hasn't suddenly found 8 lengths this deep into a prep as an 8yo

Just Fine did just fine - can only beat what is in the race...agree though - pretty short now at 11/1 when you consider 6/1 still on offer about Vauban...
 
Still set a course record and race record today though. Spirit ridge was grossly underrated by many despite placing in its last 4 starts.

Nothing else was within 4 lengths of them.

That’s great but this is the Melbourne Cup thread and it won’t run 3200m down a well
 
Just Fine did just fine - can only beat what is in the race...agree though - pretty short now at 11/1 when you consider 6/1 still on offer about Vauban...

Both those prices are utter poison. In any case the corporate prices are so stupid these days that they aren’t worth looking at

Just Fine is $15 on betfair and can’t be layed for anything less than $28

Vauban continuing to shape as one of the great false faves in the history of the race
 
False fave? Who would u have as fave - WAF?
lol. Vauban is rightly fave - carries weight, can sprint at the end of a 3200 race - and should have classes on most of these horses in what looks like being one of the weakest Cups fields ever


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
False fave? Who would u have as fave - WAF?
lol. Vauban is rightly fave - carries weight, can sprint at the end of a 3200 race - and should have classes on most of these horses in what looks like being one of the weakest Cups fields ever


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Class? Lol it’s an Irish handicapper with one group 3 win under its belt getting only 0.5 kg off the horse who was second fave for the Cox Plate before it was diverted to the CC! Go and look at the level of race it won. That’s Gear Up type form lol!

WAF should quite clearly be fave

This guy is the latest version of Mount Athos who went round at poison a couple of times in the cup

Even a horse like Soulcombe who I don’t really rate should be shorter.
 
Class? Lol it’s an Irish handicapper with one group 3 win under its belt getting only 0.5 kg off the horse who was second fave for the Cox Plate before it was diverted to the CC! Go and look at the level of race it won. That’s Gear Up type form lol!

WAF should quite clearly be fave

This guy is the latest version of Mount Athos who went round at poison a couple of times in the cup

Even a horse like Soulcombe who I don’t really rate should be shorter.

WAF should be clearly fave - are you nuts..?? On what basis..??
Is it because he won a couple of races up in Brisbane over winter?
Or is it his smashing 13th in last years Melbourne Cup...??

Check back through history you will find its not always the form - but lack of form around an international horse that gets them in at the right weight to win the Cup
 
WAF should be clearly fave - are you nuts..?? On what basis..??
Is it because he won a couple of races up in Brisbane over winter?
Or is it his smashing 13th in last years Melbourne Cup...??

Check back through history you will find its not always the form - but lack of form around an international horse that gets them in at the right weight to win the Cup

Well that is 100% incorrect. International winners have mostly been 3yos coming through the classics or through group 1-2 level racing in France and Ireland getting fair weights with proven form. Not lightweight unexposed horses getting ‘thrown in’

Vauban profiles nothing like any international winner of the cup. He profiles like a ton of horses that have come out and finished top 8 without winning and the exact types that the local pundits always incorrectly fall for

WAF is CC fave so it’s pretty easy to work out why he should also be MC fave.
 
WAF looked the winner on the turn last year, the fact it was on an utter bog killed it.

Get a dry track he’ll be steaming into it, while Vauban goes full Anthony VD on rattling good 4

Take the 17’s about WAF
Once it runs in the CC and potentially wins it’ll be fav

Feel free to back your plodding Irish hurdler
 

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I am a big Just Fine fan but its not running 3200m On the other hand given the times (which do matter.. 150 years of racing and running the fastest time when horses these days never get near the staying times is significant) Spirit Ridge may have done a Freemason and just pulled one out of his arse. Jury is out but i am not dismissing it

Breakup should be the clear fave right now. But we will see it in the CC beforehand so would rather watch that than bet
 
WAF should be clearly fave - are you nuts..?? On what basis..??
Is it because he won a couple of races up in Brisbane over winter?
Or is it his smashing 13th in last years Melbourne Cup...??

Check back through history you will find its not always the form - but lack of form around an international horse that gets them in at the right weight to win the Cup

It was 10-1 in the race last year and has found an extra gear of pace since so pretty easy to have it as favourite.

Only trouble is it's hard to get too invested in futures because if it comes up wet he may as well not be there
 
It was 10-1 in the race last year and has found an extra gear of pace since so pretty easy to have it as favourite.

Only trouble is it's hard to get too invested in futures because if it comes up wet he may as well not be there

Plus trainers can’t train their way out of a paper bag
 
My current power rankings not that they are as in depth as Jug or Paris

1. Without a Fight
2. Breakup
3. Duke de Sessa
4. Vauban
5. Francesco G
6. Okita Soushi
7. Goldman
8. Soulcombe
9. West Wind Blows
10. Valiant King

Really is a shallow cup this year, dry track it’s WAF by how far
 
Seems very doubtful WWB will line up going off connections comments last week. Caulfield Cup back to a 2000m race seems a lot more likely if he has another run out here
 
Seems very doubtful WWB will line up going off connections comments last week. Caulfield Cup back to a 2000m race seems a lot more likely if he has another run out here

$8 all in the Turnbull a laugh - dead set 15/1 chance at best
 
Under the new rules, WWB won’t be eligible to run in the MC if, as proposed, he runs in the Turnbull and CC.

Hope it breaks its leg in front of the stands in the CC to stick it up RV
 
Only 0.5kg isn’t too bad. I thought they might have gone for a late entry into the Cox Plate but probably wouldn’t want to risk it getting another penalty. I think it will run in the Might and Power to keep the legs ticking before the cup.
 
Only 0.5kg isn’t too bad. I thought they might have gone for a late entry into the Cox Plate but probably wouldn’t want to risk it getting another penalty. I think it will run in the Might and Power to keep the legs ticking before the cup.
I hope it runs will be a bunny to string the actual winning hopes into the race as WAF explodes away just before the clock tower
 

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Racing Melbourne Cup 2023 ( no after the fact posts)

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