We are approaching the point of the 2022 flat racing campaign were owners and trainers are beginning to turn their attention to the major end of season highlights — hoping to land one or two more big paydays before the competition is over for another year and the flat makes way for the jumps, at least in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Some of the races that immediately spring to mind are the St Leger, l’Arc de Triomphe and British Champions Day at Ascot, but the Melbourne Cup is another contest that will be in the sights of all the big names in the sport. Australia’s premier race of the season, the Flemington-based, two-mile outing attracts entries from all over the world and more overseas horses have been sent down under in recent years than ever before.
As a result, Joseph O’Brien and Charlie Appleby have both enjoyed success in the over £2.5m-for-the-winner race, and it is a trend that looks set to continue this year — with 43 of the 186 current entries coming from overseas stables, several of which will be heavily fancied in the online betting.
So, while the November 1st race is still a bit in the future, read on as we take a look at some of the potential British and Irish horses that could compete for that mega prize purse.
Changingoftheguard
Aidan O’Brien might not have made the 10,000-mile trip from Ballydoyle to Melbourne this year, but he looks set to send a strong team over to Australia for the 2022 renewal and Changingoftheguard is one of the potential horses who could be sent on the lengthy trip to Australia from the famed stables in County Tipperary.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained horse has looked good so far in this three-year-old season, with his only defeat coming in a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Derby. He has since bounced back from that with a victory in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, his third win of the campaign. It will be interesting to see how he fares over two miles though, a distance he is yet to be tested over in his career.
Mojo Star
Having only appeared once so far this season, showing up at Royal Ascot in June and not coming back out of hiding since, it’s fairly obvious that trainer Richard Hannon is aiming Mojo Star towards the autumn season — and could potentially include going all the way into November for the Melbourne Cup.
The four-year-old made a good account of himself at the Royal meeting despite the lengthy lay-off though, finishing a mere half-a-length behind Kyprios in the Gold Cup. So, he clearly has the ability to stay the distance and compete with the best horses. Certainly, one to watch.
Stradivarius
Every time Stradivarius takes to the track now it seems to be dubbed his swansong, but owner Bjorn Neilsen isn’t ready to call it quits on the eight-year-old’s career just yet — confirming that he will head to Doncaster after finishing second to Kyprios in the Goodwood Cup.
Nobody really knows at this stage just how far the owner and John Gosden are really going to push this horse, but we wouldn’t rule out a trip to Australia for one last hooray Down Under. Stradivarius proved at Goodwood that he can still compete, you just worry for how much longer.
