Melbourne Cup 2018: Ante-post favourite Withhold one of 50 International entries for the Flemington contest
Withhold could be joined by a number of fellow British and Irish hopefuls on the plane over - but is there room for them all in Australia?
THIS year’s Melbourne Cup has attracted 50 entries from overseas as the International raiders look to take home a share of the $7.3million up for grabs.
Joseph O’Brien, successful last year with Rekindling has entered three horses including Irish Derby winner Latrobe along with Ming and Master Of Reality.
Aidan O’Brien, who trained Johannes Vermeer to finish runner-up in last year’s contest has 12 horses entered.
His team includes Deauville, Idaho, Cliffs Of Moher, Kew Gardens and Lancaster Bomber.
Godolphin are set to have a strong hand from both their home team and Internationals.
Saeed bin Suroor has entered Best Solution, Game Starter and Prize Money.
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Fellow Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby has the likes of Cross Counter, Emotionless and Hamada in contention.
Irish maestro Willie Mullins is also set to launch another raid on the ‘race that stops a nation’.
Mullins’ possibles include Chelkar, Lagostovegas, Max Dynamite and Stratum.
Ante-post favourite for the race Withhold is among the entries for trainer Roger Charlton.
Other British raiders to note include Count Octave for Andrew Balding, Desert Skyline for David Elsworth, Marmelo for Hughie Morrison, Nakeeta for Iain Jardine and Prince Of Arran for Charlie Fellowes.
The former Jessica Harrington-trained Torcedor features in the entries for new handler Andreas Wohler.
However, despite the strong International entries this could cause a quarantine problem for those looking to get a run – or even a spot in Australia.
There are only 32 places at the Werribee quarantine facility and Racing Victoria has said entry for horses on one-way tickets (those bought by Australian connections) will be based on ratings.
As reported on , if the eight one-way spots are taken and at least seven Godolphin horses head to Australia (The Godolphin flight will be the first to arrive) that leaves just 17 stables left.
This could cause problems – especially for punters – as the current favourite Withhold is one of the lowest rated horses.
The last European flight is due to arrive in Australia on October 13 and Racing Victoria will be hoping to avoid turning horses away.