In his fifth year of trying to take home a ‘Loving Trophy’, British horseman Ed Dunlop has two hopes in the 2015 Melbourne Cup field headed by second pick in the markets Trip To Paris.
Caulfield Cup runner-up Trip To Paris is tipped to improve in the 2015 Melbourne Cup over more distance with the same weight (55kg) in the famous Flemington feature. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Dunlop is a regular down under during the Melbourne Cup Carnival having saddled-up $8 million earner Red Cadeaux for four Melbourne Cup bids for a trio of seconds including to Protectionist 12 months ago.
Now in his 10-year-old racing season by Australian standards, veteran Red Cadeaux is again one of the 24 horses in Tuesday’s $6.2 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) paying $26 to final go one better in the ‘race that stops a nation’.
Dunlop’s best fancied hope of breaking his Melbourne Cup maiden though is the shorter-priced stablemate Trip To Paris paying a firming $8 in the latest markets at Ladbrokes.com.au who are giving away a 2015 Ford 4×4 Ranger to a lucky Melbourne Cup punter!
Drawn in gate 14 with Tommy Berry aboard, Champs Elysees five-year-old Trip To Paris races in Australia for the second time this week after finishing runner-up to Mongolian Khan in the $3 million Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17.
A winner up to 4023m back home having taken out the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup in June, the five-year-old is set to relish the step up to two miles on the weekend and gets into the Melbourne Cup with a nice weight of 55kg.
So can Trip To Paris finally give Dunlop a win in the world’s richest handicap with an upset over the Japanese-trained Melbourne Cup favourite Fame Game in Flemington Race 7 at 3:00pm (AEST) on Tuesday?
Melbourne Cup Horse Form: #10 Trip To Paris
Barrier: 14
Weight: 55kg
Jockey: Tommy Berry
Trainer: Ed Dunlop
Owners: La Grange Partnership
Age: 5YO
Gender: Gelding
Breeding: by Champs Elysees (GB) from La Grande Zoa (IRE)
Career: 19-6-3-1
Win: 32%
Place: 53%
Last 6: 121352
Prize Money: $1,200,548
Track: 0-0-0-0
Distance: 2-1-0-1
Current 2015 Melbourne Cup Odds: $8
Trip To Paris 2015 Melbourne Cup Jockey Silks
Why Trip To Paris Can Win the 2015 Melbourne Cup
- Barrier 14 is a solid draw producing three Melbourne Cup winners since 1992
- He has form down under with a lead-up run in Australia when runner-up in the Caulfield Cup
- Dunlop knows the race well boasting three seconds achieved with Red Cadeaux in the past four years
- Looks well weighted with 55kg, a weight last carried to victory by Fiorente (2013)
- He carried a heftier 57kg to victory in the Ascot Gold Cup and carted 62.5kg to his Goodwood Cup third over the tow miles behind fellow Melbourne Cup hope Big Orange in July
- Has winning form over the distance (2-1-0-1)
- Will relish the step up from 2400m to 3200m
- Is a market mover
- The past two Melbourne Cup winners saluted at single figures
Why Trip To Paris Won’t be the 2015 Melbourne Cup Winner
- No horse has backed up from a Caulfield Cup and won the Melbourne Cup next start since Delta Blues (3rd in 2006)
- Tommy Berry has had two Melbourne Cup rides for no top three runs to date
- Just two five-year-olds have won the Melbourne Cup in the past 10 years
- While internationals have a good record no UK-trained horse has won the Melbourne Cup
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