Once again, Flemington Racecourse hosts the Melbourne Cup in 2022. The latest renewal of the famous race takes place at 3pm on Tuesday, November 1.
The Melbourne Cup is run over 3200 metres at Group 1 level. A handicap event, the race will attract a full field of 24 with many set to miss the cut.
The richest handicap race in the world, the Race That Stop the Nation attracts many millions in betting revenue worldwide. At $8million, $4.4m of which goes to the winner, the prize money isn’t shabby either.
Flemington Racetrack
Flemington is famous as the home of the Melbourne Cup, but it’s about so much more than that.
Left-handed, Flemington is pear-shaped relatively tight in nature. The track layout means that those not used to seeing out a 3200m distance still have a chance, with tactical speed as important as stamina here.
Flemington can host well over 100,000 racegoers and has state of the art facilities.
Melbourne Cup 2022 Favourite
At this point, English challenger Deauville Legend is the 2022 Melbourne Cup market leader. A Group 2 winner at York, his form just keeps getting better and he is impeccably bred too
The James Ferguson-trained son of Sea The Stars has beaten another top contender, Hoo Ya Mal, comfortably already and would have been a top contender for the St Leger in England, but for being a gelding.
Deauville Legend has already stayed 2600 metres at Newmarket. He was also getting better the further he went in the 2400m Great Voltigeur. He ticks a few boxes in terms of Melbourne Cup trends
Leading 2022 Melbourne Cup Contenders
Rising up the betting in recent days has been German contender Loft. Trained by Marcel Weiss, Loft won Group 2 races in both Germany and the USA in May and June. He followed those up with a strong second in England and he’s a confirmed 3200m runner.
Spanish Mission is already a familiar name and he also features highly among Melbourne Cup 2022 contenders. Back when he was trained by Andrew Balding, this horse held his English form well to run third in the 2021 Melbourne Cup. He’s now trained by master handler Peter Moody and remains one to watch.
Initially trained in Ireland, Camorra has also been transferred, this time to Ben & JD Hayes. The experienced stayer is still improving overall and is a Group 2 winner.
Godolphin’s Alegron is also high up the betting and deservedly so. James Cummings’ 4yo stays well and is already a Flemington winner over 2800 metres.
Melbourne Cup 2022 Outsider
A live outsider for the great race could well be English trained Rodrigo Diaz. Despite his bigger odds, he has a fine profile for the 2022 Melbourne Cup though he is very quirky.
His third behind Quickthorn reads very well indeed and he has form with other top stayers. He has arrived at Werribee for quarantine and will be prepared for the race on November 1. He holds a fair chance.
