Melbourne Cup on tomorrow!

A New Zealand trained horse has a chance to snatch victory in the Melbourne Cup for the first time in eight years with five contenders lining up for tomorrow’s big race.

New Zealand’s leading hope for this year’s race is three times Group 1 race winner Daffodil, who is fifth favourite with the New Zealand TAB and is paying Fixed Odds of $15. The other Kiwi-trained contenders for the big race are Capecover ($41), Harris Tweed ($61), Gallions Reach ($101) and Spin Around ($101).

If any of the Kiwi trained horses prove successful, it will be the first time since 2001 that a New Zealand trained horse has claimed victory. The Sheila Laxon trained Ethereal won the Cup in 2001.

Daffodil, the winner of the AJC Australian Oaks and Windsor Park Plate this year, will wear the Number 20 saddlecloth and has drawn barrier 21 for tomorrow’s race.

There are 11 New Zealand-bred horses in total competing in tomorrow’s race – Roman Emperor, Master O’Reilly, Daffodil, C'est La Guerre, Capecover, Kibbutz, Fiumicino, Harris Tweed, Ista Kareem, Zavite and Gallions Reach.

New Zealand bred horses have produced three victors this century – Brew (2000), Ethereal (2001) and Efficient (2007).

All the races from the Melbourne Cup Carnival will be broadcast live on Trackside Television (SKY Digital Channel 35) on Tuesday 3 November with the big race set to go at 5pm (NZ time). TV3 will also broadcast the Melbourne Cup itself, with coverage starting at 4:30pm.

For those who want to be part of the excitement of the Melbourne but are not sure how to place a bet or don’t know which horse to pick, go into your local TAB store and ask for a $10 Big Race Pack. This will give you the excitement of three bets on the one race – a $3 Each Way bet on one horse (that means $3 to win and $3 to finish first, second or third), a $1 Quinella bet (that same horse plus one other to finish first or second in any order) and a $3 Boxed Trifecta Bet (that same horse plus two others to finish first, second and third in any order) – and the computer picks all the horses for you.

For the latest odds and betting options visit the website: www.tab.co.nz

Did you know:

• The Melbourne Cup is the TAB’s biggest betting race of the year, with $7.6 million wagered on the race itself last year.

• 10 per cent of all New Zealanders had a bet on the big race last year.

• The Caulfield Cup has proven a reliable guide with nine of the past 14 winners having raced in the Caulfield Cup on their way to victory in the Melbourne Cup.

• The last New Zealand trained horse to win the race was Ethereal, whose trainer Shelia Laxon became the first woman to train a Cup winner.

• New Zealand-bred horses have won 28 of the past 50 Melbourne Cup races.

• Australian horse trainer Bart Cummings has won the Melbourne Cup 12 times, the first being Light Fingers in 1965 and the last being Viewed in 2008. He has three horses in this year’s race – Viewed, Roman Emperor and Allez Wonder.

• The favourite has won 34 times in 148 years.

ENDS

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