Australian racing faces ongoing challenges but the Flemington two-miler remains a great social and sporting occasion – just ask former Godolphin man Simon Crisford, who saddles each-way contender Meydaan
The 165th running of the Melbourne Cup takes place on Tuesday [Nov 4] amid an atmosphere of significant change in Australian racing.
Although the ongoing challenges of horse welfare and domestic politics have had an effect, Cup day itself is still regarded nationally as a great social and sporting occasion to be celebrated with the enthusiasm of old.
It was refreshing to feel the buzz at Flemington on Victoria Derby Day, the first of four days of this traditional carnival, as 86,112 basked in sunshine and shouted home a series of favourites to set up another captivating week of racing.
The action on the track preceded the barrier draw for the A$10 million Lexus Melbourne Cup, at which there were cheers and groans from connections as the post positions were revealed. Despite the race distance, the draw is all-important and plays a massive part in the outcome.
Half Yours, who attempts to become the 13th to complete the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double in the same year, did well to draw gate 8 of 24, but the well-credentialed topweight Al Riffa has landed 19 and James McDonald’s mount Meydaan ended up with 22.
Stringent veterinary inspections
At the same time, there is little doubt the stringent veterinary inspections carried out by Racing Victoria stewards have had the desired effect of ruling out horses assessed as being at high risk of sustaining injury over the Cup’s 3,200 metres (two miles).
The highest-profile absentee is Sir Delius, winner of the G1 Underwood Stakes and G1 Turnbull Stakes with such authority that he had been made a firm favourite for the Cup but then failed vet checks on October 17, which also ruled out a crack at the Cox Plate.
Co-trainers Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott did their best to take it on the chin. Both know very well that the image of racing to the wider public overrides personal interest, and that image is hugely influenced by what happens during the 3m20s or so it takes to run the Melbourne Cup.
Eight equine deaths in a decade, either during the Cup itself or in training in the weeks leading up to it, made the stringent inspections necessary. All those fatalities involved visiting imports – notoriously, the 2019 Derby winner Anthiny Van Dyck broke down fatally in 2020 – but there has not been a Cup fatality in the past four years, which most agree is a direct result of the tougher standards.
However, this has unquestionably affected the quality of the field. Last year’s Cup winner Knight’s Choice, shunned by punters at 90-1, led home arguably the weakest line-up in almost four decades when winning for Irish jockey Robbie Dolan.
Although this year’s field is a lot better, it still lacks significant depth. Al Riffa, the multiple G1 winner trained by Joseph O’Brien, stands head and shoulders above his rivals in terms of class, and consequently has a good horse’s weight in this staying test as he is asked to shoulder top weight of 59 kilos (9st 4lb).
Handicap factor
If he were to land the prize with that weight, it would set him apart as an outstanding Cup winner in the modern era. And the factor that must be remembered: it is a handicap.
Since the weights were published, Meydaan, with 54 kilos (8st 7lb), has always been considered well-handicapped, giving the Newmarket-based father-and-son training duo of Simon & Ed Crisford hope that the gelding might provide the stable with consolation for the bitter blow of seeing one of their former horses Without A Fight win the Caulfield-Melbourne Cup double for Anthony & Sam Freedman.
To add to the pain, Without A Fight defeated the Crisfords’ West Wind Blows in his Caulfield Cup triumph. “We were satisfied we sent the right horses down to Melbourne, but Without A Fight struck soft ground, which he didn’t like, in the year he ran for us,” explains Simon Crisford.
Meydaan, this year’s contender for the stable, was only ninth behind Half Yours in the Caulfield Cup. “We have always felt Meydaan is the right type of horse for Melbourne,” says Crisford. “Obviously, he’s got to show a lot more than he did in the Caulfield Cup but his sectionals were good. He finished the race off well, and obviously that gave us encouragement to go to the next stage, which is the Cup itself.
“He has not been as consistent as the others, which is a concern. But having said that, his profile is pretty rock-solid and he has run against very good horses. He ran well in the September Stakes at Kempton against horses who ran super well in the Arc. He can throw in a bad run if things don’t go well for him but overall, we think he has a good each-way chance.”
Eyebrows raised
The booking of McDonald (right), replacing Andrea Atzeni, raised a few eyebrows among those familiar with the stable’s usual approach. “Meydaan didn’t really act on the track at Caulfield and it was not Andrea’s fault,” says Crisford. “But all along we have felt that if we could get one of the best local jockeys in Australia, then it was going to happen.”
Crisford’s experience with the Melbourne Cup stretches back more than two decades to his days as Godolphin’s racing manager, when results were also quite frustrating with more than one near-miss.
“You can never be too disappointed in the Cup,” he reflects. “You come away with good memories and some not-so-good memories but the challenge always remains the same.
“We sent down Central Park, who finished second in the Cup, and there were others, who did well. Give The Slip was memorable – he finished second to Ethereal after Richard Hills stuck to the inside on a day when it was rain-affected and it was better to come down the middle.
“I’m pleased Meydaan will be carrying Sheikh Ahmed’s colours in the Cup,” he adds. “He is passionate about horses and racing. He owns his own racetrack in Dubai, Jebel Ali, and has his own stable there, and he’s enjoyed success in Australia with Addeybb.
“Some of his horses have been exceptionally good … Iffraaj, Kayf Tara, Mtoto being among his most notable. The Melbourne Cup has always been a massive worldwide event for the Maktoum family and Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin won the Cup with Cross Counter, while Sheikh Hamdan won two, with At Talaq and Jeune. It would be appropriate for Sheikh Ahmed to join his brothers on the honour roll.”
• Visit the VRC website and the Racing Victoria website
• Read previous articles in the View From The Rail series
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• View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires