No matter how many Group 1 races are won and regardless of the millions of dollars made available in prize money, there is one race every trainer wants to win. The Melbourne Cup is unsurpassed in Australia.
It’s all quiet just now regarding breaking Cup news. We want to remain ahead of the game however, so we’re checking out some of Australia’s top trainers. We want to see what they have in their locker in terms of potential Melbourne Cup horses.
Last week we took a look at the profile of Chris Waller’s Land Legend, making that handler the one to start with.
Chris Waller
Waller has dominated a number of the country’s top races since coming to the fore as a trainer. He finally won the Melbourne Cup in 2021 with great mare Verry Elleegant and he’s desperate to do it again.
Not that we’re doubting his quality, but it is often about the numbers with Waller. He will have plenty of contenders and will likely be mob handed going into November. As of now, there are already half a dozen or so potential Cup horses in his care.
Soulcombe was a very encouraging runner-up in 2023 behind Without A Fight. The British import is highly rated, knows the job and is likely to be routed towards the race once more.
Also with Waller are Kovalica, Militarize, Land Legend, Riff Rocket and Sheraz. Land Legend got tongues wagging in England with James Ferguson, won the St Leger at Randwick and will continue his career now with Waller.
The others are all quality performers too and should be in everyone’s notebooks.
James Cummings
James Cummings, just in case you somehow didn’t know, is the grandson of the great Bart Cummings. He is a fourth-generation trainer in fact with his outstanding grandfather winning no fewer than twelve Melbourne Cups, by far a record for the race.
James himself has a Group 1-winning profile. It’s a matter of time with his pedigree before he wins this race. He is also entrusted with the conditioning of the world-leading Godolphin string in Australia.
As of now, Cummings’ potential Cup team is headed by Zardozi and Tom Kitten. The former was the recent Kennedy Oaks winner while the latter was the Spring Champion Stakes hero.
Ciaron Maher
Along with then-partner David Eustace, Ciaron Maher won the Cup in 2022 with the tough Gold Trip. Eustace is leaving the partnership to train in Hong Kong, but there’s no doubt that Maher will be back for more at Flemington in November.
Gold Trip is likely to be involved again, along with several others in the yard. Potential runners include Interpretation, Ashrun, Future History and King Colorado among others.
Future History couldn’t land a blow in last year’s Cup, but was a find third previously in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup.
