News

Get ready as Melbourne is certainly going to come alive over the next 4 weeks as the excitement starts to build into Melbourne Cup Week with only 4 weeks to go!

Starting tomorrow with a massive day of racing action at Caulfield, Caulfield Guineas Day features three Group 1 races and a couple of super-stars, More Joyous in the Toorak Handicap (race 6) and hot favourite Pierro in the Caulfield Guineas (race 7).

New Zealander Ocean Park races in the Caulfield Stakes (race 5) in his lead up to the A$3million WS Cox Plate on 27 October. Ocean Park has won the Group 1 Makfi Challenge Stales (Hastings) and Group 1 Underwood Stakes (Caulfield) in his last two races and is the favourite to win again tomorrow.

The 2012 New Zealand Horse of the Year Mufhasa, known as King Mufhasa in Australia, is defending his title in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap after taking it out in 2011. There are a number of Melbourne Cup hopefuls racing at Caulfield tomorrow, the races to keep an eye on are the Caulfield Stakes and Herbert Power Stakes (race 8).

In other Melbourne news, last weekend the Matamata-trained 3-year-old It’s a Dundeel underlined his star qualities with a great victory in the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick, Sydney. It's A Dundeel will head to Melbourne for the Victoria Derby (2500m) on the first day of Melbourne Cup Week.

The international raiders with their eyes on the Melbourne Cup have arrived into Australia. The International Horse Centre at Werribee has become a hive of activity with all 16 international horses going through their paces for the first time last week. The highly-rated Mount Athos, who is trained by Luca Cumani and who is the current favourite in Melbourne Cup, was on the track for the first time last week, as was stablemate My Quest For Peace.