Though we’ve already noticed that there are fewer British entries than expected in the Cup this year, some remain alongside their Irish counterparts.
On Saturday, the oldest Classic in the world took place at Doncaster in England. The St Leger, run over 2800m, is the last Classic of the year in Britain and Ireland. It featured several nominees for the Melbourne Cup, some running very encouragingly indeed.
Royal Runner May Still Head to Melbourne
Desert Hero, owned by King Charles, may well be still on course to head to Flemington on November 7.
The young colt finished third in the St Leger. He would now need to go through the controversial stringent vet tests this week if he is to be allowed to travel.
After the race, trainer William Haggas left all options open. The St Leger marked only Desert Hero’s seventh career start. There is clearly more to come from what is an improving colt.
Having waited for room, Desert Hero stayed on nicely for third at Doncaster. He was sweating up before the race however, with a long trip to Melbourne and potentially warmer weather arguably being against him.
Tower Of London in Good Shape
It was a good day for the Coolmore team and Aidan O’Brien. Their Continuous, a Japanese-bred, won the Leger in good style but he’ll be staying in the northern hemisphere. Back in fourth for the exact same team was Tower Of London who does hold a nomination.
It was a strong run under jockey Jim Crowley for the son of Galileo. Another improver, Tower Of London has gone from a rating of 96 to 109 before Saturday’s run. A new official mark of around 115 is expected now.
By all accounts, it is felt that better ground will suit him. Things were riding very slow at Doncaster at the weekend. The prospect of good ground and some warmer weather would certainly suit this one.
In a race dominated by Coolmore with no Charlie Appleby contender, there were two more horses running in the famous colours and both have Melbourne Cup nominations.
In this case, both runners failed to shine on the day. Denmark was sent off at 28/1 and ran like it, ultimately coming home some 16¾ lengths behind the winner. 40/1 shout Alexandroupolis was even further back, finish in last place and beaten 26¾ lengths.
Whether one or both of these colts is likely to accompany Tower Of London is unclear. VRC’s intrusive vet checks would need to start as early as Tuesday too, so decisions need to be made.
What’s Next in the Melbourne Cup Lead-Ups?
Potential Melbourne Cup horses have more chances domestically soon. The Bart Cummings comes up soon, run on October 7. The 2520m event should tell us much more about who is favoured going into the major spring races.
