Nominations for the 2010 Melbourne Cup

Entries are now closed for the 2010 Melbourne Cup. Entries were due by noon on 3 August and late entries have now closed at noon on Tuesday 10 August (for a fee of $3,300 instead of the $660) so the final field will come from the 256 nominations now showing on the VRC website and new betting markets are currently being set.

There are international nominations from the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Ireland, France and Hong Kong as well as New Zealand. The Japanese horses were only cleared for travel to Australia days before the entries closed and it will be the first time Japanese horses have been here since their debut Melbourne Cup quinella in 2006. Japans six nominations include the first three home in the Group 1 Tenno Sho, which is Japan’s premier two-mile handicap, of Jaguar Mail, Meiner Kitz and Meisho Dontaku. Connections of the third horse paid the late entry fee to nominate him only last Friday.

The international horses are very tough and include stayers from the stables of Dermot Weld, John Oxx, Sir Michael Stoute and Godolphin, but the Australian horses are strong too. Cups King Bart Cummings has 12 runners nominated with powerful runners like Faint Perfume, So You Think, Dariana and Sirmione. Owner Lloyd Williams is making a very strong bid for the 150th Melbourne Cup with 20 horses, some bought overseas specifically with this goal in mind.

Handicap weights will be released no later than Wednesday 1 September and then first declarations must be paid up by noon on Tuesday 7 September. By then more horses will have some runs under their belt and some will be lost from the field due to injury. But at least the field now has a limit and you can seriously start to pick the 2010 Melbourne Cup winner.

Jo Jackson

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