Melbourne Cup field 2017: Cup runners finalised as Waterhouse savours runner

AFTER months of preparation and endless permutations, the 2017 Melbourne Cup field is locked in for Tuesday’s famous race at Flemington.

MELBOURNE CUP 2017: AFTER months of preparation and endless permutations, the 2017 Melbourne Cup field is set.

With the enforced withdrawal of Jon Snow and the decisions to bypass Tuesday’s Cup with Qewy and Abbey Marie, the final field will contain 11 internationals and 13 Australian-trained gallopers.

James Cummings, bidding to emulate the feat of his legendary grand-father Bart and great grand-father Jim, will be represented by top-weight Hartnell.

In further developments, Who Shot Thebarman was withdrawn on Sunday afternoon because of an elevated temperature.

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Darren Weir will have three runners — Cox Plate runner-up Humidor, Big Duke and Amelie’s Star.

Ireland’s Willie Mullins will also have a trio in the Cup — 2015 runner-up Max Dynamite, Wicklow Brave and Royal Ascot winner Thomas Hobson.

Lloyd Williams will chase an unprecedented sixth Cup with a record six runners — defending champion Almandin, Johannes Vermeer, Rekindling, US Army Ranger, Bondi Beach and Gallante.

Cismontane bravely holds off all-comers to win the Lexus Stakes. Picture: Jay Town

The Macedon Lodge owner has already savoured a record five Cup triumphs with Almandin, Green Moon, Efficient, What A Nuisance and Just A Dash.

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott will attempt to snatch the Cup with featherweight hope Cismontane, who raced into the Cup with Lexus Stakes victory.

Marmelo and Wall Of Fire will chase England’s first triumph in the race, while Nakeeta will carry the hopes of Scotland.

France will be represented by Tiberian, the celebrated son of a teaser stallion.

Red Cardinal will seek to give Germany’s Andreas Wohler a second Cup after Protectionist’s 2014 success and will be ridden by dual Cup winner Kerrin McEvoy, who has scored previously with Almandin and Brew.

Chris Waller will start Libran, which is part-owned by VRC chairman Amanda Elliott, and evergreen Who Shot The Barman, who contests his fourth Cup.

Kathy O’Hara (Single Gaze) is the sole confirmed female rider at this stage, but Katelyn Mallyon could pick up one of the Macedon Lodge mounts.

Michelle Payne, who triumphed in 2015 on Weir’s Prince Of Penzance, is the lone woman to ride a Cup winner so far.

David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig have two representatives — Ventura Storm and Caulfield Cup winner Boom Time.

MELBOURNE CUP FIELD

1. Hartnell - D Lane 12

2. Almandin - F Dettori 14

3. Humidor - B ShinN 13

4. Tiberian - O Peslier 23

5. Marmelo - H Bowman 16

6. Red Cardinal - K McEvoy 24

7. Johannes Vermeer - B Melham 3

8. Bondi Beach - M Walker 1

9. Max Dynamite - Z Purton 2

10. Ventura Storm - G Boss 6

11. Who Shot Thebarman - T Berry 20 Scratched

12. Wicklow Brave - S Baster 8

13. Big Duke - B Avdulla 5

14. US Army Ranger - J Spencer 22

15. Boom Time - C Parish 9

16. Gallante - M Dee 18

17. Libran - D Dunn 7

18. Nakeeta - G Schofield 19

19. Single Gaze- K O’Hara 11

20. Wall Of Fire - C Williams 15

21. Thomas Hobson - J Moreira 21

22. Rekindling - C Brown 4

23. Amelie’s Star - D Yendall 10

24. Cismontane - B Mertens 17

THE WINNERS AND THE LOSERS

BARRIER 1: Bondi Beach - M Walker

BARRIER 2: Max Dynamite - Z Purton

BARRIER 3: Johannes Vermeer - B Melham

BARRIER 4: Rekindling - C Brown

BARRIER 5: Big Duke - B Avdulla

BARRIER 6: Ventura Storm - G Boss

BARRIER 7: Libran - D Dunn

BARRIER 8: Wicklow Brave - S Baster

BARRIER 9: Boom Time - C Parish (David Hayes)

BARRIER 10: Amelie’s Star - D Yendall

BARRIER 11: Single Gaze- K O’Hara

BARRIER 12: Hartnell - D Lane

BARRIER 13: Humidor - B Shinn

BARRIER 14: Almandin - F Dettori

BARRIER 15: Wall Of Fire - C Williams

BARRIER 16: Marmelo - H Bowman

BARRIER 17: Cismontane - B Mertens

BARRIER 18: Gallante - M Dee

BARRIER 19: Nakeeta - G Schofield

BARRIER 20: Who Shot The Barman - T Berry Scratched

BARRIER 21: Thomas Hobson - J Moreira

BARRIER 22: US Army Ranger - J Spencer

BARRIER 23: Tiberian - O Peslier

BARRIER 24: Red Cardinal - K McEvoy

Gai Waterhouse after Stephen Baster rode Cismontane to victory in the Lexus Stakes.

Gai gets Cup chance

GAI Waterhouse is adamant Lexus Stakes winner Cismontane is a legitimate Melbourne Cup contender, optimistic the tough gelding can complete a meteoric rise with victory on Tuesday.

Chasing her second Melbourne Cup triumph — and co-trainer Adrian Bott’s first — Waterhouse said Cismontane’s stamina and courage will count for plenty in the Cup.

“This horse is as tough as teak and as honest as the day is long,’’ Waterhouse said.

“Of course he will back up on Tuesday. He is in the field now and you have a chance because you are in the race.

“It will be very hard to win, with the compressed weights these days it is even harder than ever, but we have a horse that will try his heart out.

“It is so exciting for the owners, so exciting for Adrian and I, the people who work with us at the stables because so much work goes into getting a horse ready for a Melbourne Cup.

“Cismontane has been everywhere.

“He was down here, we took him back to Sydney for the St Leger, he ran third there and third again last week in the Moonee Valley Cup. He thrives on his racing.”

Waterhouse and Bott will combine with their second Cup runner after 2015 Lexus winner Excess Knowledge finished 16th last year.

Waterhouse, then training alone, won the Cup with Fiorente in 2013.

Lexus victory catapulted lightly-raced Cismontane into the Cup field and he will now attempt to join Shocking (2009) and Brew (2000) as winners of both the Lexus and Cup.

The triumph prompted TAB to slash Cismontane’s odds from $151 to $31.

Bott was certain runner-up Vengeur Masque and Pentathlon were going to catch Cismontane in a brutal finish.

Cismontane $151 into $31 for the 2017 #MelbourneCup. One punter placed $500 at $201 earlier today. https://t.co/Rxt0TkeDyD #DerbyDay https://t.co/ynroiTMPE7

— TABcomau Media (@tabcomaumedia) November 4, 2017

“He’s incredible. I thought he was gone on numerous occasions throughout the straight but he kept digging in and kept fighting and was very strong late,” Bott said

“It probably sounds ridiculous to say this now but he’s only just learning what it’s all about now — he’s just starting to put it together at the right time.

“Stephen (Baster) got him into a beautiful rhythm, he got his own way in the lead and even thought he was out in front by a few lengths and he was doing it comfortably.”

Baster, who is having a tremendous run with Waterhouse and Bott, is amazed at the five-year-old’s progress.

“If you asked me six months ago I would have said he is flat out winning a midweeker,” he said.

“He’s just improved out of sight and the team have done an amazing job with him — I couldn’t have dreamt to have seen him here today.

For Vengeur Masque, the last horse to be eliminated for last year’s Cup, it was a nasty case of deja vu.

“It stings a bit. We missed out last year in 25th place for the Melbourne Cup and we’re going to miss out by a lip. It’s a bit hard to swallow,” jockey Pat Moloney said.

Favourite Harlem loomed at the op of the straight, but wilted.

“I thought on turning it was going to be how far but he just didn’t stay the trip,” Dwayne Dunn said.

Meanwhile, Kiwi stayer Jon Snow remains in serious doubt for the two-mile classic with lameness.

Chief steward Terry Bailey says the Murray Baker runner has heat in his front feet.

A report on his condition will be passed on to the Victoria Racing Club committee before the 5pm Melbourne Cup final acceptance deadline.

It is the second runner from the Baker stable to come under the attention of stewards with early Caulfield Cup Bonneval also vetted before being cleared to run in the 2400m classic two weeks ago.

The dual Oaks winner subsequently disappointed in the Caulfield Cup and was sent back to New Zealand. Another stablemate Lizzie L’Amour also returned home after failing to find form.