Strong entry for spring events in Australia
Several Emirates Melbourne Cup hopefuls, including Distinction, Phoenix Reach and Yeats, are among a strong Irish and British entry for the two build-up races to the Flemington spectacular in November.
There are 14 British possibles, plus five from Aidan O’Brien’s stable, in the Carlton Draught Caulfield Cup over a mile and a half in October.
Among the entries for the Carlton Draught Cox Plate the same month are five from Ireland and five from Britain.
Saeed bin Suroor has put all of Godolphin’s six Melbourne Cup entries - Andean, Cherry Mix, Fantastic Love, Fight Your Corner, Razkalla and Songlark - in the Caulfield Cup at the Melbourne track.
Aidan O’Brien can choose from Ace, Mullins Bay, Powerscourt, Solskjaer and Yeats.
Michael Stoute has made three entries – Distinction, Maraahel and Notable Guest – while David Elsworth is considering the race for Norse Dancer.
Mark Johnston’s Bandari, Brian Ellison’s Carte Diamond and Alan Swinbank’s Collier Hill complete the British entry.
Bin Suroor is not represented in the Cox Plate over an extended 10 furlongs at Moonee Valley, with 16 foreign entries the lowest for four years.
However, the list includes Bandari, the Brian Meehan-trained Fong’s Thong, Maraahel, Norse Dancer and Phoenix Reach from Andrew Balding’s stable.
