We’ve seen some major jockey bookings confirmed in the past week or so. Now, following the Caulfield Cup, the 2024 Melbourne Cup picture is becoming ever clearer.
Caulfield Cup Winner Not Heading to Melbourne Cup
The odds and the final line-up of the Melbourne Cup is usually heavily influenced by the Caulfield Cup. This year’s edition was won nicely last weekend by Duke De Sessa. He will be heading to Flemington next, but not for our big race.
Duke De Sessa will be running on Champions Day instead, so his Golden Ticket won’t be used. The form of the Caulfield Cup however still looks vital.
Buckaroo and Land Legend gave weight to Duke De Sessa but ran well in second and third. Zardozi was back in fourth and again shows up well in the Melbourne Cup pecking order.
Horses can of course bounce back, but the Caulfield Cup may also affect the Melbourne Cup line-up in a negative way. Those not running well at Caulfield may now not show up at Flemington.
Berkshire Breeze was last, beaten 28¼ lengths. Sayedaty Sadaty was 16th of 18, Warp Speed was back in 13th and Circle Of Fire was tenth, beaten 13¾ lengths. Time will tell whether their trainers see them as ready to take on the big one.
Onesmoothoperator Still Aimed at Cup
Onesmoothoperator, trained by the inimitable Brian Ellison in England, begins his Australian adventure this week. The Geelong Cup is his first target, with his team growing in confidence that he can meet his Melbourne Cup target in two weeks.
As a native of Newcastle, Ellison had been trying all his career to win the Northumberland Plate. This year, Onesmoothoperator made that dream come true. It is admirable then that the team is not stopping there with the star six-year-old.
He faces 14 rivals on Wednesday in the Geelong Cup. The Group 3 race is run over 2400m which would be at the lower end of Onesmoothoperator’s limits, but it’s a good warm-up. If he manages to win that race, we could yet see him again at Flemington.
Latest Melbourne Cup Odds
How does all of this leave the betting market? Well, the TAB picture will be different, but there’s not more uniformity among popular online betting brands.
Melbourne Cup odds will continue to change over the next fortnight. Duke De Sessa earned a $13 quote in the Melbourne Cup betting after winning the Caulfield Cup.
We can safely ignore that however, as he looks sure to start next in the Champions Stakes at Flemington on November 9, after Melbourne Cup Day.
Aidan O’Brien’s Jan Brueghel leads the way at a best-priced $6. Vauban and Buckaroo are now challenging him at the top. Here’s the current Melbourne Cup top ten:
$6.00 – Jan Brueghel
$9.00 – Vauban
$10.00 – Buckaroo
$15.00 – Absurde
$17.00 – Point King
$19.00 – Land Legend
$26.00 – Zardozi
$26.00 – Via Sistina
$34.00 – Warp Speed
$41.00 – The Map
