The Melbourne Cup field has narrowed after a host of horses were withdrawn at third acceptances on Monday.
There are now 32 runners remaining in the order of entry, with the top 24 by Saturday evening qualifying for the $8 million race that stops a nation.
The top 24 can still change, though. Wednesday’s Bendigo Cup and Saturday’s Lexus Archer Stakes can catapult a horse into the top 24 and bump others out.
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Among the contenders pulled from the order of entry is the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Knights Order, which would have been guaranteed a start.
The Waterhouse-Bott stable still has Serpentine and Military Mission in line to contest the 3200m Flemington feature next Tuesday.
Automatic qualifier Lunar Flare was withdrawn from the order of entry, and suddenly retired at the weekend.
Lunar Flare was rated a $17 chance after winning an exemption race – the Andrew Ramsden Stakes in May – but was suddenly retired after being injured in the Moonee Valley Cup on Friday night.
The order of entry is what will ultimately determine which 24 horses enter the barriers for the famed Melbourne Cup on November 7 at Flemington.
For the 2023 event, a total of 132 horses were nominated before the September 5 cut-off. The list included 117 Australian horses and 15 stayers from overseas hoping to win a share of the $8 million prize money.
Final declarations on Saturday will give connections the chance to withdraw their runner from the order of entry.
Connections must confirm four times that they wish to remain in the order of entry, with each declaration point requiring a fee.
If a horse makes it through all declaration points, all up connections must pay $60,000 for the chance to run in the race, and some will still miss out.
Once horses are nominated, Racing Victoria stewards assign weights to each runner, which essentially determines the order of the list, with the top weight at No.1.
However, the order of entry is updated constantly, and horses can move up the list based on results in lead-up races. The weights can also change when penalties (extra weight) are applied by stewards when a horse wins.
There are also seven Melbourne Cup exemption races – the Lexus Stakes, Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, The Bart Cummings, Roy Higgins Quality, Andrew Ramsden Stakes, and the Ebor Handicap.
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If a horse wins any of these races it can automatically qualify for the Melbourne Cup field no matter where it sits on the order of entry.
Furthermore, the winning horse from several overseas races – the Arlington Million, the San Juan Capistrano Handicap in the USA, the Doncaster Cup in the UK, the Irish St Leger, and the Tenno Sho and Sankei Sho in Japan – are invited to run in the Melbourne Cup.
This is the order of entry for the 2023 Melbourne Cup.
2023 MELBOURNE CUP ORDER OF ENTRY
Correct as of October 31
1= WITHOUT A FIGHT (IRE) (7yo, 55.5kg, Anthony and Sam Freedman)
1= ABSURDE (FRA) (6yo, 53kg, Willie Mullins)
1= FUTURE HISTORY (GB) (6yo, 50kg, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
4. GOLD TRIP (FRA) (7yo, 58.5kg, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
5. ALENQUER (FRA) (6yo, 56.5kg, Mike Moroney)
6. BREAKUP (JPN) (6yo, 55kg, Tatsuya Yoshioka)
7. VAUBAN (FRA) (6yo, 55kg, Willie Mullins)
8. SOULCOMBE (GB) (5yo, 53.5kg, Chris Waller)
9. VOW AND DECLARE (8yo, 53kg, Danny O’Brien)
10. RIGHT YOU ARE (7yo, 53kg, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
11. MAGICAL LAGOON (IRE) (5yo, 51kg, Chris Waller)
12. VIRTUOUS CIRCLE (NZ) (4yo, 51kg, Liam Howley)
13. LASTOTCHKA (FRA) (5yo, 51kg, Jean-Marie Beguigne)
14. CLEVELAND (IRE) (6yo, 51.5kg, Kris Lees)
15. SHERAZ (FRA) (7yo, 51.5kg, Chris Waller)
16. DAQIANSWEET JUNIOR (NZ) (6yo, 51.5kg, Phillip Stokes)
17. VALIANT KING (GB) (4yo, 50kg, Joseph O’Brien)
18. ASHRUN (FRA) (8yo, 51.5kg, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
19. OKITA SOUSHI (IRE) (6yo, 51.5kg, Joseph O’Brien)
20. MILITARY MISSION (IRE) (6yo, 50.5kg, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott)
21. KING FRANKEL (IRE) (6yo, 51kg, Annabel Neasham)
22. SERPENTINE (IRE) (7yo, 51kg, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott)
23. MORE FELONS (IRE) (6yo, 50.5kg, Chris Waller)
24. TRUE MARVEL (FRA) (8yo, 50kg, Matthew Smith)
*****
25. LADIES MAN (6yo, 50kg, Allan Sharrock)
26. ATHABASCAN (FRA) (5yo, 50kg, John O’Shea)
27. UNITED NATIONS (5yo, 50kg, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
28. FANCY MAN (IRE) (6yo, 50kg, Annabel Neasham)
29. HASTA LA WAR (8yo, 50kg, Sue Murphy)
30. KALAPOUR (IRE) (7yo, 50kg, Kris Lees)
31. INTERPRETATION (IRE) (6yo, 50kg, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace)
32. MOSTLY CLOUDY (IRE) (5yo, 50kg, Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young)
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