Melbourne Cup Tips: Best Bets, Odds & Analysis
Melbourne Cup Horse Racing Tips
Where: Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
When: Tuesday, November 7th, 15:00pm AEST
Distance: 3,200 metres (Approx. two miles)
Total Prizemoney: AUD 14 million (Approx. £7.3 million)
Widely known as ‘The Race That Stops a Nation’, the Melbourne Cup is the most celebrated in Australia and betting sites have odds at the ready.
It is like the Grand National, Derby, Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival rolled into one in Australia. Everyone has an opinion on what is one of the richest horse races in the world.
The Melbourne Cup is the highlight of a four-day racing carnival at the track. In 2022, it produced a turnover of AUD 776m in Australia, with nearly AUD 100m generated internationally over the four days. The Melbourne Cup alone attracted a jaw-dropping AUD 226m in wagering.
Mullins Leads The Irish Challenge
The final 24 runners in the Melbourne Cup will not be finalised until Saturday, but the leading contenders with bookies all seem likely to take their place in Tuesday’s showpiece.
Willie Mullins is one of Ireland’s most famed trainers and has enjoyed plenty of success in a career spanning over 35 years, which has harvested over 4,000 winners, including an astonishing 90 winners at the Cheltenham Festival.
He knows how to train his charges to the minute for the big races and hopes will be running high that his Vauban, who is already a sure starter, will have what it takes to win this most testing of races, where speed mixed with stamina is of utmost importance.
Mullins went close to winning the race with Max Dynamite, who was beaten by half a length in 2015 and again with the same horse in 2017 when he was third, but Mullins feels that Vauban and Absurde are his best chances yet.
Vauban is currently the favourite for the Melbourne Cup with bookies, and he is expected to be in the thick of the action come the final 400 metres on Tuesday.
Both horses were flown to Australia well before the race to give them plenty of time to acclimatise, and Vauban looked a picture when he turned out for his first gallop on the turf at Flemington on Tuesday morning.
Moving particularly sweetly with Assistant Trainer Dave Casey on board in the 1,600-metre blowout, Vauban extended with ease from York Ebor Cup winner Absurde, and connections were reportedly delighted with the gallop.
There was an immediate buzz at the track, with clock watchers and racing journalists impressed with what they had seen.
It bodes well for a horse that thrived on the flat in the summer, winning a valuable one-mile six-furlong handicap at Ascot in June and a Group 3 race at Naas over a mile and a half in August.
Earlier in the year, he had also performed with great credit when pitched against some of the best hurdlers in training over two miles or thereabouts.
His preparation for the Melbourne Cup cannot be faulted, and in the hands of leading jockey Ryan Moore, who won the race on the German-trained Protectionist in 2014, he is taken to give Ireland a famous victory in one of the world’s greatest races.
Melbourne Cup Tip: Vauban to win 3.75 with Bet365
Ebor Winner Absurde Makes Place Appeal
Absurde, who can be backed at a standout 26.0 with Bet365, will be ridden by Hong Kong jockey Zac Purton, who partnered Max Dynamite when third in 2017.
Absurde has over seven lengths to find on his stablemate on Ascot form, but he has solid place claims going on his Ebor win.
The downside for well-weighted Absurde is that he was no match for Vauban in Tuesday’s gallop. The upside is that the Melbourne Cup trip looks ideal, and the long straight coming home will be much to his liking.
Last year’s champion, Gold Trip, is a best-priced 6.0 to retain his crown, and with proven form at Flemington, he is to be respected.
Melbourne Cup Tip: Absurde each-way @26.0 with Bet365
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