• The Melbourne Cup Horse Race
• Melbourne Cup 2020 Horses

Where YOUR horse finished in the Melbourne Cup: The final placings and dividends in the race that stops a nation. Twilight Payment stormed home to win the Melbourne Cup in extraordinary race. International stayer and Australian cult horse Prince Of Arran’s future racing career remains in doubt after the horse had another slow start and disappointing run in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. The globetrotting stayer has been placed in the past three Melbourne Cups and has become Australia. Melbourne Cup 2021 Horses. Below you will find the final field and profiles of the horses that will potentially run in the 2020 Melbourne Cup. We will provide any changes to details on the Melbourne Cup 2020 horses as soon as they become when available.

Kerrin McEvoy rides Cross Counter to victory in last year’s Melbourne Cup. (AAP Image/Albert Perez)Source:AAP

Champion trainer Chris Waller is firming to win his first Melbourne Cup as Finche assumed favouritism ahead of Australia’s most famous race.

Japan’s Mer De Glace had been at the top of markets since drawing gate two in Saturday’s barrier draw but by late Monday he was displaced as favourite by Finche who was backed from $9.50 into $8.

FOLLOW: Live Melbourne Cup day action

Here’s the final word on all 24 runners.

1. CROSS COUNTER (Barrier: 5) Weight: 57.5kg — Jockey: James Doyle Trainer: Charlie Appleby Odds: $14 (Win), $4.20 (Place)

“It’s a hard race to win but we think we’ve got the best horse in the race, so we’ll take our chance. He’s a bigger, stronger horse than last year.” – trainer Charlie Appleby’s foreman, Chris Connett.

2. MER DE GLACE (2) 56kg — J: Damian Lane T: Hisashi Shimizu Odds: $8.50, $2.80

“I’m really confident in the horse I’m riding. We’ve drawn well. It would be nice if the rain slowed down. He hasn’t performed on a soft track before but we can’t control that. The 3200m is a big question mark. But I think he will run it out.” – jockey Damian Lane.

3. MASTER OF REALITY (1) 55.5kg — J: Frankie Dettori T: Joseph O’Brien Odds: $26, $7

“He’s (jockey Frankie Dettori) of the firm view that the form Master Of Reality showed that day, and obviously his lead-ups to Ascot, he said that’s the best staying form in the world.” – part-owner Nick Williams.

4. MIRAGE DANCER (13) 55.5kg — J: Ben Melham T: Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young Odds: $31, $8.50

“The way he ran through the line in the Caulfield Cup after getting that squeeze at the top of the straight I think he’s going to be better for it. He’s had that experience racing here now and in a big field.” – co-trainer Natalie Young.

5. SOUTHERN FRANCE (14) 55.5kg — J: Mark Zahra T: Ciaron Maher and David Eustace Odds: $23, $6.50

“He’s got the right form lines. The intensity of the work has increased and he’s in very good order.” – co-trainer Ciaron Maher.

6. HUNTING HORN (11) 55kg — J: Seamie Heffernan T: Aidan O’Brien Odds: $41, $11

“He looks a million dollars. Hunting Horn is one of those horses that has thrived here and he’s definitely taken his race well.” – trainer Aidan O’Brien’s travelling foreman TJ Comerford.

7. LATROBE (22) 55kg — J: James McDonald T: Joseph O’Brien Odds: $23, $6.50

“He has had the perfect preparation. He hasn’t missed a day. Everything we’ve wanted to do with him he’s done and he’s done well. And without question, he’s probably the classiest runner in the field. If there’s any question about him it’s the two miles.” – part-owner Nick Williams

Melbourne Cup runner Latrobe during a trackwork session at Werribee Racecourse. (AAP Image/Vince Caligiuri)Source:AAP

8. MUSTAJEER (6) 55kg — J: Damien Oliver T: Kris Lees Odds: $18, $5

“The positives are he is in good order and although he’s not proven at two miles, he is proven at 2800m and he can handle all types of tracks.” – trainer Kris Lees.

9. ROSTROPOVICH (12) 55kg — J: Dwayne Dunn T: David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig Odds: $81, $17

“He missed the start, made a mid-race move and did a lot of work up the hill at Caulfield and when they do that they find it very hard to win. We’re hoping for a big improvement.” – co-Trainer Ben Hayes.

10. TWILIGHT PAYMENT (19) 55kg — J: Hugh Bowman Trainer: Joseph O’Brien Odds: $41, $11

“I think he’s a horse who likes to gallop on forward … there is plenty of time to get across, we won’t rush him. I’ll just have him where he’s comfortable.” – jockey Hugh Bowman.

11. FINCHE (4) 54kg — J: Kerrin McEvoy T: Chris Waller Odds: $8.50, $2.80

“He’s got a nice barrier and hopefully I can give him every chance to run well. He has shown me in his trackwork that he has come out of the Caulfield Cup well and he’s nice and bright.” – jockey Kerrin McEvoy

12. PRINCE OF ARRAN (8) 54kg — J: Michael Walker T: Charlie Fellowes Odds: $18, $5

“They tell me it was a very quick time for the Geelong Cup and it’s a pretty good indication for the big one I think.” – trainer Charlie Fellowes.

13. RAYMOND TUSK (3) 54kg — J: Jamie Spencer T: Richard Hannon Odds: $21, $6

“I don’t think he’s got a negative – we know we stay, we know we’ll appreciate the ground, we know the jockey gets on with him, we’ve got a good draw, got a good weight.” – syndicate manager Tom Palin.

14. DOWNDRAFT (15) 53.5kg J: John Allen T: Joseph O’Brien Odds: $20, $5.50

“All the reports are is that he has pulled out of the race (Hotham Stakes) in good order and hopefully he can reproduce what he did on Saturday.” – jockey John Allen.

15. MAGIC WAND (24) 53.5kg — J: Ryan Moore T: Aidan O’Brien Odds: $20, $5.50

“She’s a very high-class filly but she’s running the distance for the first time and I wish it wasn’t raining really.” – jockey Ryan Moore.

16. NEUFBOSC (23) 53.5kg — J: Luke Nolen T: David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig Odds: $126, $21

The Melbourne Cup Horse Race

“He needs everything to go right. He’s drawn a hard gate and we’ll just have to see how it plays out.” – co-trainer Ben Hayes.

Rostropovich and Neufbosc during a trackwork session at Flemington. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source:Getty Images

17. SOUND (10) 53.5kg — J: James Winks T: Michael Moroney Odds: $91, $17

“He seems to be going well. He ran well in the Caulfield Cup and probably copped the worst of the interference.” – trainer Mike Moroney.

18. SURPRISE BABY (20) 53.5kg — J: Jordan Childs T: Paul Preusker Odds: $14, $4.20

“I think this year (barriers) mightn’t be as crucial as other years. They might run it along hopefully, so 20 might not end up being like 20.” -trainer Paul Preusker.

19. CONSTANTINOPLE (7) 52.5kg — J: Joao Moreira T: David Hayes, Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig Odds: $9.50, $3

“He’s got the right jockey and I think we’ve got the right conditions. Hopefully that converts to a good run.” – co-trainer Ben Hayes.

20. IL PARADISO (17) 52.5kg — J: Wayne Lordan T: Aidan O’Brien Odds: $14, $4.20

“We’re coming down here as a lightweight. It’s a big ask but hopefully we’ll get a bit of luck on the day.” – part-owner Tom Magnier.

21. STEEL PRINCE (16) 52.5kg — J: Brett Prebble T: Anthony Freedman Odds: $71, $15

“He’s taken no problem from his mishap at Caulfield and he’s had the fitness run at Geelong.” – jockey Brett Prebble.

22. THE CHOSEN ONE (18) 52kg — J: Tim Clark T: Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman Odds: $61, $15

“There’s not much we can do about the draw but it would have been nice to get a little closer to the fence as we haven’t had a lot of luck like that of late.” – co-trainer Andrew Forsman.

23. VOW AND DECLARE (21) 52kg — J: Craig Williams T: Danny O’Brien Odds: $12, $3.60

“I think he’ll certainly be much better suited at Flemington on the bigger track and the extra distance is right up his alley as well. This is the race we thought he could win and he’s going to get there in great shape.” – trainer Danny O’Brien.

24. YOUNGSTAR (9) 52kg — J: Tommy Berry T: Chris Waller Odds: $31, $8.50

“This time last year Youngstar was the horse on everybody’s lips and unfortunately her form is not quite as good as it was going into the race this time last year.” – trainer Chris Waller.

It’s the race that stops a nation … and is worth a cool A$6.2 million. So what goes into the raceday preparation for the equine stars of the show?

Thoroughbred racehorses have unique anatomy and physiology that suits them well for racing at high speeds. There are very few 3,200m Thoroughbred races in Australia, and the horses that make it to the final 24 in the Melbourne Cup are truly elite equine athletes.

They have superior oxygen transport and an ideal mix of muscle fibre types, and are able to efficiently gallop at high speed. But winning the race also depends on how the horse behaves on the day, and of course, several ounces of good luck.

Built to win

While Phar Lap’s massive heart is an Australian legend (and is on display at the National Museum of Australia), horses racing in the Melbourne Cup will have big hearts with exceptionally high capacity for pumping blood to their muscles.

During the race, each horse’s heart rate will hit 220-230 beats per minute, with each beat pumping around 1.3-1.4 litres of blood (this is called stroke volume). To put this in perspective, around 300 litres of blood will be pumped to each horse’s muscles and other tissues during each minute of the Melbourne Cup race.

That blood also has an extraordinarily high concentration of haemoglobin – its oxygen-carrying component – much higher than that of elite human athletes.

These factors combine to enable an elite racehorse to consume approximately 250 litres of oxygen during the race.

On average, horses in the Cup will consume oxygen at maximum rates of around 180ml per minute for each kilogram of body weight after the first minute of the race.

Better race results could be expected in the horses with the highest oxygen-consumption – but a win depends on more than just higher aerobic capacity. At some stage in the race every horse will need to do a short sprint, and must also possess the anatomy and physiology suited to a short burst of speed.

These elite horses will have just the right combination and number of different types of muscle cells to provide the ideal mix of endurance and acceleration.

The best Thoroughbred racehorses have higher proportions of fast twitch oxidative muscle fibres (FOG), which are well suited to fast contractions, oxygen metabolism and fatigue resistance.

In contrast, slow twitch fibres (SO) are better suited to endurance races over 50 kilometres or more.

A higher percentage of fast twitch glyolytic fibres (Type FG) provide for high speed over sprint distances of 400-1,000m.

In comparison with this year’s Melbourne Cup contenders, Black Caviar probably had a higher ratio of muscle mass to body mass, coupled with a higher percentage of Type FG muscle fibres, which provided her the ideal muscle structure and function suited to racing over sprint distances of 1,000-1,200m.

Training for a two-miler

As I said earlier, there are few races in Australia as long as the 3,200m Melbourne Cup, so training for the race needs a mix of slow and fast gallops and short distance sprints of 400-600m.

The trainer has the challenging job of making the right decisions each morning in order to promote fitness, but not overtrain and tire the horse out for a few days at just the wrong time.

While there is no science in these day-to-day decisions, the art of the trainer is still very important in preparing the individual horse to be at peak physical fitness and emotional state on the day.

(Yes, emotional state. More on that in a minute.)

The horse will usually have its final sprint or fast gallop workouts 3-5 days before the race before being maintained with slow exercise each day until the race – much like a human athlete tapers before a marathon.

Daily feed intake is usually decreased on the day of the race – having a big mass of food in the intestines isn’t ideal.

Horses in the Cup may have included treadmill training in their preparation for the race. Use of high-speed treadmills is now much more common in the larger training businesses, and adoption of this technology seems more common in Australia than in other countries. A treadmill is particularly useful for monitoring and maintaining a horse’s heart rate during training (see the video below).

Horses racing for the Cup must also pass an intensive pre-race inspection by experienced veterinarians, who ensure that the welfare of the horse is not compromised.

Horse psychology

Poor behaviour before or during the race can seriously impact a horse’s performance. Horses with over-excitability before the race, usually shown by agitation and excessive sweating, tend to perform less well than their calmer race mates.

I have even seen a horse so agitated before the Melbourne Cup that it had to be withdrawn because it refused to go to the starting gates.

Likewise, horses which do not relax during the running of the race pull hard against the jockey’s trying to restrain the horse. This costs energy, so the horse’s efficiency of galloping is decreased, resulting in poor performance.

Of course, there are other factors to take into account, such as the jockey and handicap.

Melbourne Cup 2020 Horses

But from a purely equine perspective, horses in the Melbourne Cup must win the genetic lottery, respond to training and racing programs over several years and be in just the right mental state on the day.