Flemington remains a Soft 6 for today’s $8 million Melbourne Cup despite over 12.2mm of rain falling over the last 24 hours.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup was also raced on a Soft 6 after a heavy deluge of rain pounded Flemington earlier in the day. Track manager Liam O’Keefe expects the track to stay a steady Soft 6 throughout Tuesday with a slight chance of showers expected later in the morning.
‘’There aren’t really any drying winds and the day will be a little cloudy so it probably won’t improve much from a soft 6,’’ O’Keefe told Racing.com.
Fine weather is expected when the gates open at 3pm for the race that stops a nation, but O’Keefe doesn’t expect the track to dry out much.
“We’ve got a fine day. Not a great drying day … with the early start as well. I think whatever we start off in the morning, that’s probably what it will be for the day” O’Keefe went on to say.
The rail has also been moved out three metres to help parts of the track dry out following Saturday’s Derby meeting.
The complete 2019 Melbourne Cup field can be viewed below with odds available by clicking here.
2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup Field
| # | Form (Last 10) | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12x1x1x434 | CROSS COUNTER (GB) | Charlie Appleby | William Buick | 5 | 57.5kg |
| 2 | 211x11x1x1 | MER DE GLACE (JPN) | Hisashi Shimizu | Damian Lane | 2 | 56kg |
| 3 | 7250×14335 | MASTER OF REALITY (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Frankie Dettori | 1 | 55.5kg |
| 4 | 2x0x1322x3 | MIRAGE DANCER (GB) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Ben Melham | 13 | 55.5kg |
| 5 | 37×3264413 | SOUTHERN (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 14 | 55.5kg |
| 6 | 3344465881 | HUNTING HORN (IRE) | Aidan O’Brien | Seamie Heffernan | 11 | 55kg |
| 7 | 220×344216 | LATROBE (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | James McDonald | 22 | 55kg |
| 8 | 4x1x723516 | MUSTAJEER (GB) | Kris Lees | Damien Oliver | 6 | 55kg |
| 9 | 251557×790 | ROSTROPOVICH (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 12 | 55kg |
| 10 | 423x2411x7 | TWILIGHT PAYMENT (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Hugh Bowman | 19 | 55kg |
| 11 | x1x34x5125 | FINCHE (GB) | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 4 | 54kg |
| 12 | 8x49x58321 | PRINCE OF ARRAN (GB) | Charlie Fellowes | Michael Walker | 8 | 54kg |
| 13 | 1x6x237x4x | RAYMOND TUSK (IRE) | Richard Hannon | Jamie Spencer | 3 | 54kg |
| 14 | x196112x31 | DOWNDRAFT (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | John Allen | 15 | 53.5kg |
| 15 | 2×53220224 | MAGIC WAND (IRE) | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 24 | 53.5kg |
| 16 | 2x30x80709 | NEUFBOSC (FR) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 23 | 53.5kg |
| 17 | 00x048x070 | SOUND (GER) | Michael Moroney | James Winks | 10 | 53.5kg |
| 18 | 1514132×41 | SURPRISE BABY (NZ) | Paul Preusker | Jordan Childs | 20 | 53.5kg |
| 19 | 531×212224 | CONSTANTINOPLE (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Joao Moreira | 7 | 52.5kg |
| 20 | 322×17135 | IL PARADISO (USA) | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | 17 | 52.5kg |
| 21 | x11111x467 | STEEL PRINCE (IRE) | Anthony Freedman | Brett Prebble | 16 | 52.5kg |
| 22 | 0141×59195 | THE CHOSEN ONE (NZ) | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | Tim Clark | 18 | 52kg |
| 23 | 1x36621x42 | VOW AND DECLARE | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 21 | 52kg |
| 24 | x059x87873 | YOUNGSTAR | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 9 | 52kg |
