The scramble to earn a start in the Melbourne Cup is already on with the Victoria Racing Club hosting a qualifying race at Flemington on Saturday.
A guaranteed starting spot is on offer for the winner of the A$320 000 Andrew Ramsden.
An early favourite for the Cup is the northern hemisphere-bred Russian Camelot, after his impressive win in the South Australian Derby.
Twelve stayers will be chasing the golden ticket in Saturday’s 2800m race.
The Ramsden was rebranded in 2019 after calls for the VRC to provide more opportunities for Australian-trained stayers to secure a Melbourne Cup start.
It is now the fifth Australian race to guarantee the winner a place in the 24-horse Melbourne Cup field.
The other qualifiers are the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate, the Bart Cummings and the Hotham Handicap.
Run at weight-for-age, the Ramsden is restricted to three, four and five-year-olds and last year it was a thriller with Steel Prince (Nathaniel) beating Surprise Baby (Shocking) in a photo-finish.
Both horses went on to run in the Cup and they finished in the top 10 with Surprise Baby’s fifth placing earning rave reviews.
All eyes on Saturday will be on King Of Leogrance (Camelot), a stablemate to last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War).
King Of Leogrance is expected to start a pronounced favourite after being given a preparation that is now typical of his trainer Danny O’Brien.
The import, part-owned by Lloyd Williams, will be racing for the first time since winning the Adelaide Cup over 3200m two months ago.
He was in a race of his own at Morphettville, striding clear for a 2,25 length win at his third start for O’Brien.
The Ramsden field also includes Too Close The Sun (Carlton House) who is chasing four successive wins.
Too Close The Sun has won three of his four Victorian starts since making his way from Perth for trainer Lindsey Smith.
Click on the image below to find out more about the Hollywoodbets menu on Saturday – the Flemington first is off at 03h45
