How to pick a Melbourne Cup winner
The racing experts at Ladbrokes have analysed every horse in the field and given us their thoughts on the leading contenders.
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The 2019 Melbourne Cup field has been announced and 24 of the best stayers in the world are set to contest ‘the race that stops a nation’ at Flemington on Tuesday afternoon.
Don’t know who to back in the Melbourne Cup?
The racing experts at Ladbrokes have analysed every horse in the field and their thoughts on the leading contenders can be found below!
Mer De Glace - $7
No horse has completed the Caulfield Cup/Melbourne Cup double since Ethereal in 2001, but Mer De Glace has an excellent opportunity to end that drought. His victory in the Caulfield Cup was outstanding and there is no reason that he can’t deliver the Japanese yet another feature race win.
Constantinople - $8
Constantinople would have won the Caulfield Cup with any luck in running and he is a deserving Melbourne Cup favourite with Ladbrokes. His form in Europe has been very strong and the scary thing for his rivals is that he is a lightly-raced horse with plenty of improvement left in him.
Finche - $10
Chris Waller has won just about everything in Australian racing, but the Melbourne Cup continues to elude him. Finche could change that. He has had the perfect preparation for the Melbourne Cup and he is ready to peak after tough runs in the Turnbull Stakes and the Caulfield Cup.
Vow And Declare - $12
Vow And Declare is easily the best Australian-bred horse in the Melbourne Cup field. He finished second in the Queensland Derby earlier this year and there is no doubt that he has gone to another level since then. His run in the Caulfield Cup was excellent and he looks as though he is crying out for the 3200 metres of the Melbourne Cup.
Il Paradiso - $13
There has been plenty of money for Il Paradiso with Ladbrokes in the past week and that looks set to continue. He finished third behind Stradivarius – the best stayer in the world – in the Lonsdale Cup and he is a similar type of horse to recent Melbourne Cup winners Rekindling and Cross Counter.
Surprise Baby - $17
What a story this would be! Surprise Baby was purchased for only $5000 and is now one of the leading contenders for the Melbourne Cup. He secured his place in the Melbourne Cup field with his win in The Bart Cummings and he gets into the race with no weight on his back.
FULL BARRIER DRAW AND ODDS
Cross Counter (GB) (5) $13
Mer De Glace (JPN) (2) $7
Master Of Reality (IRE) (1) $16
Mirage Dancer (GB) (13) $31
Southern France (IRE) (14) $26
Hunting Horn (IRE) (11) $26
Latrobe (IRE) (22) $21
Mustajeer (GB) (6) $19
Rostropovich (IRE) (12) $61
Twilight Payment (IRE) (19) $81
Finche (GB) (4) $10
Prince Of Arran (GB) (8) $21
Raymond Tusk (IRE) (3) $14
Downdraft (IRE) (15) $16
Magic Wand (IRE) (24) $21
Neufbosc (FR) (23) $126
Sound (GER) (10) $101
Surprise Baby (NZ) $17
Constantinople (IRE) $8
Il Paradiso (USA) (17) $13
Steel Prince (IRE) (16) $67
The Chosen One (NZ) (18) $101
Vow And Declare (21) $12
Youngstar mh (9) $41