Hartnell can’t beat Winx but he’s our best hope of halting raiders in Melbourne Cup

HE can’t beat Winx but he is our best chance to thwart the formidable foreign challenge for the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.

HE can’t beat Winx but he is our best chance to thwart the formidable foreign challenge for the $6.2 million Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.

Hartnell has come through his Cox Plate thumping behind Winx in such good order that trainer John O’Shea is giving the green light to press ahead with a Melbourne Cup start.

The talented Hartnell is the $4.60 TAB Fixed Odds favourite to win the Melbourne Cup and repel a field likely to contain as many as a record-equalling 11 overseas-trained stayers.

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But in an ironic twist, if Hartnell does win the great race the Cup trophy may still leave Australian shores as the Godolphin stayer’s owner, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is the ruler of the United Arab Emirates.

O’Shea said Hartnell has come through his eight-lengths second to Winx in the Cox Plate “better than I had expected.’’

“James (McDonald) looked after him beautifully in the run, not punishing him late and letting him roll to the line,’’ O’Shea said.

“We paid up for him (yesterday) for second acceptances and hope to have a good week with him in the lead up to the Cup.

“If at any stage we are not happy with him we will have no hesitation in pulling him out.

“But at this stage everything is on track and we are excited to have a strong chance in Australia’s great race.’’

Jameka, winner of the Caulfield Cup, is among 32 stayers left in the Melbourne Cup after second acceptances were taken yesterday.

They include:

# NINE overseas-trained gallopers are in the top 24 in Cup order of entry — Big Orange, Curren Mirotic, Wicklow Brave, Bondi Beach, Scottish, Heartbreak City, Beautiful Romance, Secret Number and Grey Lion.

# INTERNATIONAL raiders Qewy (25th) and Oceanographer (29th) are borderline entries.

# GODOLPHIN has seven Melbourne Cup entries — Scottish, Qewy and Oceanographer for trainer Charlie Appleby, Beautiful Romance and Secret Number for Saeed Bin Suroor, and the O’Shea-trained duo of Hartnell and Tally.

# OWNER Lloyd Williams, already a four-time Melbourne Cup winner, has four entries in next week’s race, Almandin, Bondi Beach, Gallante and Assign.

# FIVE-TIME Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Lee Freedman has Our Ivanhowe and Exospheric safely in the field.

O’Shea also has a strong entry for the Derby Day meeting at Flemington on Saturday including crack colt Astern and Archives in the Group 1 $500,000 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m).

The Coolmore is shaping as a Derby Day highlight and features the clash of Astern, trainer Mick Price’s brilliant colts Extreme Choice and Flying Artie, Golden Slipper winner Capitalist, last start Schillaci Stakes winner Star Turn and unbeaten Russian Revolution.

In early TAB Fixed Odds betting on the Group 1 races, Astern and Extreme Choice are co-favourites at $3.50, Sacred Elixir heads betting at $3.20 for the $1.5 million Victoria Derby, First Seal is top pick at $4.40 for the $500,000 Myer Classic and The United States is a $4.40 favourite for the $1 million Cantala Stakes.

MELBOURNE CUP ORDER OF ENTRY

Second declarations, final declarations on Saturday

Flemington, November 1 (3200m)

1. JAMEKA (Ciaron Maher) 53.5kg (including 2.0kg penalty)

2. ALMANDIN (Robert Hickmott) 51kg (including 1.0kg penalty)

3. BIG ORANGE (Michael Bell) 56kg

4. OUR IVANHOWE (Lee & Anthony Freedman) 56kg

5. CURREN MIROTIC (Osamu Hirata) 55.5kg

6. HARTNELL (John O’Shea) 55kg

7. WHO SHOT THEBARMAN (Chris Waller) 55kg

8. WICKLOW BRAVE (Willie Mullins) 55kg

9. BONDI BEACH (Aidan O’Brien) 55kg

10. EXOSPHERIC (Lee and Anthony Freedman) 55kg

11. SCOTTISH (Charlie Appleby) 54.5kg

12. TALLY (John O’Shea) 52.5kg

13. GRAND MARSHAL (Chris Waller) 53.5kg

14. GALLANTE (Robert Hickmott) 53.5kg

15. ALMOONQITH (D & B Hayes and T Dabernig) 53.5kg

16. REAL LOVE (Darren Weir) 52kg

17. SIR JOHN HAWKWOOD (John Thompson) 53kg

18. HEARTBREAK CITY (Tony Martin) 53kg

19. HOWARD BE THY NAME (Darren Weir) 51.5kg

20. BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE (Saeed bin Suroor) 51.5kg

21. EXCESS KNOWLEDGE (Waterhouse & Bott) 52.5kg

22. ASSIGN (Robert Hickmott) 51kg

23. SECRET NUMBER (Saeed bin Suroor) 51kg

24. GREY LION (Matt Cumani) 51kg

25. QEWY (Chris Appleby) 50.5kg (including 0.5 penalty)

26. PENTATHLON (John Wheeler) 50.5kg

27. ROSE OF VIRGINIA (Lee & Shannon Hope) 50kg

28. VENGEUR MASQUE (Michael Moroney) 50kg

29 OCEANOGRAPHER (Charlie Appleby) 50kg

Not passed ballot

DE LITTLE ENGINE (Danny O’Brien) 50kg

THE BANDIT (John Sadler) 50kg

TOM MELBOURNE (Lee & Anthony Freedman) 50kg

Originally published as Hartnell can’t beat Winx but he’s our best hope of halting raiders in Melbourne Cup