Several talented stayers have showcased their Melbourne Cup credentials in the United Kingdom and Australia over the past few days.
The Sky Sports Racing Aston Park Stakes at Newbury provided a useful pointer for the race, with Middle Earth producing a storming late run to win the Group 3 contest.
John and Thady Gosden’s colt was ridden patiently by jockey Oisin Murphy, settling in behind the leaders who set a strong pace at the head of affairs.
King Of Conquest appeared to have made a decisive move when he forged clear in the home straight, but Murphy came with a well-timed run to snatch an eye-catching victory.
“That was good – the jockey saved every inch and he needed every inch,” said John Gosden. “He won well in the Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot and he’s a grand horse.
“The horse will come on for that, because it wasn’t strongly run for a horse coming from last. He’s like his father (Roaring Lion) – he likes good ground, good to firm and firm. He’s not a lover of soft ground.
“He was slow out the gates, he usually is, but he was slower than ever and there was no pace until old Cemhaan tried to put a bit of pace in it.
“He did well to win off that pace, but Oisin was clever sneaking up the rail and when you are winning by a nose you need to sneak up the rail.”
Middle Earth’s next target is the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, a race which is expected to be a stepping stone towards the Melbourne Cup in November.
Australian trainer Ciaron Maher is a part-owner of the four-year-old, who was slashed in the betting for the big event at Flemington Racecourse following his victory.
Punters who follow free horse racing tips in Australia will likely latch onto Maher’s involvement with the horse and his odds could be cut further if he impresses on his next outing.
Maher’s Sydney Cup winner Circle of Fire is the early favourite for the Melbourne Cup, but Middle Earth could be a lively contender if he runs well at Royal Ascot.
A couple of other Melbourne Cup hopefuls were in action on day three of York’s Dante Festival, with Tower Of London and Vauban running in the Yorkshire Cup.
While Tower Of London laboured home in fifth place, Vauban ran a promising race on his seasonal reappearance to finish second behind Giavellotto.
Vauban was the favourite for the 2023 Melbourne Cup, but trailed home in 14th place after leading around the final turn under jockey Ryan Moore.
Trainer Willie Mullins booked William Buick to ride the horse at York, and the combination linked-up well to finish second behind the impressive winner.
“I was delighted – they’ll be very happy with that,” Buick said. “He’s going to get further and he felt he was going to improve for that, so there are plenty of positives to take from it.”
Trainers Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray have an exciting Melbourne Cup candidate on their hands after The Map claimed a thrilling victory in the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington.
With regular jockey Jamie Kah engaged elsewhere, Damian Lane took over in the saddle and delivered the mare with a withering late run to claim the victory.
MacGillivray was understandably delighted to see the six-year-old book her place in the Melbourne Cup and will now plot a route to the big race.
“It’s been a phenomenal couple of weeks in my life – it’s just awesome,” MacGillivray said.
“We’ve kept working her – we didn’t change a thing, she kept eating. She just gets more and more self-assured – every time she comes out, she does it a bit easier.
“That was a superb ride. He sat in there amongst all those horses – he never got anxious and let her do her thing.
“I said to him, ‘if she’s doing her thing, she’ll be happy, and when you get out, she’ll go’. He had to sort of push out, but once she was out, there was no stopping her.
“We’ll go to the paddock now – she can have three or four weeks off and we’ll just let her chill. We’re in the Melbourne Cup – let’s get her there fit, probably with no weight penalty. That’s the first plan.”
