Talented young jockey Zac Lloyd has been given the ride on UK raider Valiant King in next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.
The 20-year-old has taken the Sydney racing scene by storm over the past couple of seasons, and currently sits fifth on the NSW Metro Jockey Premiership.
Lloyd rode in his first Cox Plate last weekend, with his mount Militarize finishing 8th, beaten just 2.35 lengths.
Valiant King, who ran well without much luck in the Caulfield Cup a fortnight ago in his first Australian start, has come out of that run in good order according to part-owner Ozzie Kheir.
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We are most likely to proceed with Valiant King now towards the Melbourne Cup,“ Kheir told Racenet.
“He has come out of the Caulfield Cup better than when he went in the race and if not interfered in his run on closing stages may have run third or fourth so he deserves his chance if he‘s feeling well.
“His recent work has been impressive in quarantine so has forced our hand. He won‘t be out of place and expect him to run very well with 50kg on his back.”
ORDER OF ENTRY
The 2023 Melbourne Cup is almost upon us, with the final field to be revealed this Saturday afternoon (November 4).
The order of entry for the race that stops the nation is determined by the weights assigned to each runner by a handicapper. The bigger the weight, the more likely the horse is to make the final field.
After Interpretation claimed the Bendigo Cup on Wednesday, moving up the order into 24th based on prize money but remaining at 50kg, 29 horses remain in the running for a spot.
The top 24 horses that are still in the ballot after final declarations on November 4 will make up the Melbourne Cup field.
As always, there will be horses currently in the top 24 that will be withdrawn from the race in the coming days due to injury or poor form. On Monday the connections of eight horses took their runners out of contention, including the now-retired Lunar Flare, who suffered a career-ending injury in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup last Friday.
Fancy Man and Hasta La War were withdrawn on Wednesday, the latter after failing to win the Bendigo Cup, while King Frankel who was 21st in the ballot order has also withdrawn.
Essentially, the owners who pay the final declaration fee on November 4 are signalling their intent to run their horse in the Cup.
There are three horses still in the ballot who have earned automatic entry into the field by winning Melbourne Cup exemption races. Those are indicated on the list below with the 1= next to their name.
For those horses on the outside looking in, there is one more ballot exemption race to be run which acts as a final throw of the stumps. That is the Lexus Archer Stakes (previously known as the Hotham Handicap), named after the first winner of the Melbourne Cup.
Under the provision that he/she is still in the order of entry, the winner of this Saturday’s Lexus Archer Stakes will be ensured of a start in the great race.
Ladies Man (25th), Athabascan (26th), United Nations (27th) and Kalapour (28th) are all horses outside the top 24 that will likely have a final throw at the stumps in the Archer.
If one of those four horses win on Saturday, it will push Bendigo Cup winner Interpretation down to 25th and out of the race, granted there are no other withdrawals between now at Saturday afternoon.
Read on for the updated Order of Entry for the 2023 Melbourne Cup
As of 5pm November 1
Ballot Order – Horse – Trainer – Weight
1= WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE) Anthony & Sam Freedman 56.5kg
1= ABSURDE (FR) Willie Mullins 53kg
1= FUTURE HISTORY (GB) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 50kg
4 GOLD TRIP (FR) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 58.5kg
5 ALENQUER (FR) Michael Moroney 56.5kg
6 BREAKUP (JPN) Tatsuya Yoshioka 55kg
7 VAUBAN (FR) Willie Mullins 55kg
8 SOULCOMBE (GB) Chris Waller 53.5kg
9 VOW AND DECLARE Danny O’Brien 53kg
10 RIGHT YOU ARE Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 53kg
11 MAGICAL LAGOON (IRE) Chris Waller 51kg
12 VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ) Liam Howley 51kg
13 LASTOTCHKA (FR) Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) 51kg
14 CLEVELAND (IRE) Kris Lees 51.5kg
15 SHERAZ (FR) Chris Waller 51.5kg
16 DAQIANSWEET JUNIOR (NZ) Phillip Stokes 51.5kg
17 VALIANT KING (GB) Joseph O’Brien 50kg
18 ASHRUN (FR) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 51.5kg
19 OKITA SOUSHI (IRE) Joseph O’Brien 51.5kg
20 MILITARY MISSION (IRE) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 51kg
21 SERPENTINE (IRE) Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott 51kg
22 MORE FELONS (IRE) Chris Waller 50.5kg
23 TRUE MARVEL (FR) Matthew Smith 50kg
24 INTERPRETATION (IRE) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 50kg
*****
25 LADIES MAN (NZ) Allan Sharrock 50kg
26 ATHABASCAN (FR) John O’Shea 50kg
27 UNITED NATIONS (IRE) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace 50kg
28 KALAPOUR (IRE) Kris Lees 50kg
29 MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE) Trent Busultin & Natalie Young 50kg (Not passed)
