Just One Week to the Melbourne Cup!

Media Release

27 October 2009

It’s just one week to the Melbourne Cup – the race that stops two nations – and New Zealand is likely to have at least two horses in the field.

Daffodil is considered to be the best rated of the Kiwi trained horses to snatch victory in the big race, after finishing fourth in the A$2.5m Caulfield Cup in Australia on 17 October. She is now joint fifth favourite with the TAB to win the race, paying Fixed Odds of $14.

The other Kiwi trained horse likely to make the field is the Murray and Bjorn Baker trained Harris Tweed. He’s currently paying Fixed Odds of $81 to win the race. Other New Zealand trained possibilities that could still make the field are Spin Around, Gallions Reach, Capecover and Six O’Clock News. The field for the race will be confirmed this Saturday at about 9:30pm (NZ time).

Last year, 10 per cent of all New Zealanders had a bet on the Melbourne Cup through the TAB, with a total of $7.6 million wagered on the race itself. Melbourne Cup Day is the biggest day of the year for the New Zealand TAB.

A New Zealand trained horse has not won the Melbourne Cup since 2001 when the Sheila Laxon trained Ethereal got up in the last few strides to win by three-quarters of a length.

The current favourite with the TAB to win this year’s Melbourne Cup is the 2007 winner Efficient, who is paying Fixed Odds of $5.50. Efficient was bred in New Zealand by Graeme Hunt and Scott Williams and is 25 per cent owned by four Kiwis – Hunt, Williams and Mike and Tony Sellars. Second favourite is last year’s winner and the winner of this year’s Caulfield Cup – Viewed, who is trained by master trainer Bart Cummings, and is paying Fixed Odds of $6.50.

Cummings has won the first two of the big Australian races this year – the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate – and will be aiming for complete domination of the spring carnival by collecting the Melbourne Cup next week. In total, he has won four Cox Plates, seven Caulfield Cups and 12 Melbourne Cups, but has never won all three races in the same season. He could have up to five horses in the field for the race next week.

The Melbourne Cup is Australasia’s richest horse race with a purse of A$5.5 million (NZ$6.8m) and is set to race at 5pm (NZ time) next Tuesday (3 November).

All the races from the Melbourne Cup Carnival will be broadcast live on Trackside Television (SKY Digital Channel 35) and TV3 will also broadcast the Melbourne Cup race itself in an hour-long show, with coverage starting at 4:30pm.

The New Zealand TAB’s top 10 Fixed Odds for the Melbourne Cup are:

Efficient (2007 Melbourne Cup winner) $5.50

Viewed (2008 Melbourne Cup winner and 2009 Caulfield Cup winner) $6.50

Alcopop $7.00

Roman Emperor $12

Daffodil (NZ trained) $14

Zipping $14

C’est La Guerre (NZ bred) $18

Master O’Reilly (NZ bred) $21

Mourilyan $21

Vigor $21

For the latest New Zealand TAB Fixed Odds available on the Melbourne Cup visit: http://www.tab.co.nz/sport?option=190

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