All Melbourne Cup 2024 jockeys for Tuesday’s big race have now been confirmed with connections of this season’s top stayers making their decisions on what hoops will ride their contenders in the ‘Race That Stops a Nation’.
2024 Melbourne Cup Jockey Facts
- Joao Moreira rides the favourite Buckaroo
- Up to five female jockeys will have a ride
- Mark Zahra chases his third straight Melbourne Cup win this year on Circle Of Fire
- Kerrin McEvoy is a three-time champion chasing a record equaling fourth on Absurde
The ‘Magic Man’ Joao Moreira will partner the Chris Waller-trained favourite Buckaroo, while jockey Tyler Schiller had picked up a late ride on Muramasa replacing the suspended Daniel Moor before news broke that Muramasa would officially be withdrawn. Click here for the story.
Should Harry Eustace’s impressive Bendigo Cup winning UK raider Sea King make the starting line-up, Hollie Doyle is set to partner the superior stayer.
She will take the number of female Melbourne Cup jockeys in the 2024 race up to a record five.
The other female riders out to emulate Michell Payne on Prince Of Penzance in 2015 are: Jamie Kah (Okita Soushi), Rachel King (The Map), Winona Costin (Positivity), and Nikita Beriman (Mission Of Love).
Below we take a look over some of the confirmed Melbourne Cup riders in 2024 highlighting those to watch in the famous Flemington Race 7 at 3:00pm (AEDT) on Tuesday!
Joao Moreira (Buckaroo on 54.5kg) – Current Odds $5.50
The ‘Magic Man’ gets a huge chance to his first Melbourne Cup winner partnering with the Chris Waller-trained favourite Buckaroo. Moreira continues associations with the eye-catching Caulfield Cup runner-up who was luckless getting caught in traffic with improvement to come. Moriera rides this horse for the fourth straight time down under having previously guided him to victory by 3.5 lengths in the Underwood before the close second to Via Sistina in the Turnbull, the form of which was blitzed by that mare’s eight-length Cox Plate demolition job. Moreira just didn’t get the right line when second to Without A Fight on Soulcombe for the stable last year and is ready to pull out all the stops to go one better!
Mark Zahra (Circle Of Fire on 54.5kg) – Current Odds $26
Mark Zahra is out for his piece of Melbourne Cup history chasing a third consecutive win in the world’s richest handicap. He rode Gold Trip in 2022 and Without A Fight in 2023 when making a controversial decision not to try for a second on the defending champion. This year he goes aboard a longer priced chance for Ciaron Maher with the autumn’s Sydney Cup winner Circle Of Fire around $26 in the markets at time of publish. Zahra rode the horse first-up for a disappointing and distance last place in the Makybe Diva with Tuesday his second time in the saddle of the five-year-old entire. Glen Boss was the last triple Melbourne Cup winning jockey but all three of his were of the mighty Makybe Diva. This horse will stay but recent form suggests Zahra won’t be celebrating a three-peat.
Kerrin McEvoy (Absurde on 52.5kg) – Current Odds $13
Kerrin McEvoy boasts an impressive Melbourne Cup riding record of three winners having partnered Brew (2000), Alamandin (2020), and Cross Counter (2018). Last year he ran a stellar fourth on Ashrun and this year he partners the Willie Mullins-trained Irish raider Absurde. Absurde was seventh last year with Zac Purton aboard. Not sure he’s going to do better than that this year leaving McEvoy without that record-equally fourth Melbourne Cup trophy.
Craig Williams (Onesmoothoperator on 51kg) – Current Odds $6.50
Williams is another former Melbourne Cup winning jockey looking to add to his tally in 2024 and he partners one of the best in the markets with the USA-bred, British-trained raider Onesmoothoperator. Brian Ellison’s gelding, seventh in the Ebord, rocketed into Cup contention with his impressive Ladbrokes Geelong Cup triumph. That form has held for the visitors in the big one a few times before and there’s money for that to be the case here. Williams won on Vow And Declare in 2019 for the locals but will be chasing one for the internationals on Tuesday. Media Puzzle, Americain and Dunaden…Onesmoothoperator?
Teo Nugent (Interpretation on 50kg) – Current Odds $15
Nugent gets a second chance on the Ciaron Maher-trained Interpretation after his credible sixth from barrier 17 as a 40/1 outsider in the markets last year. Same lightweight in 2024 but the horse is arguably going far better and is at a shorter quote of $15 to salute after a lead-up second in the Geelong Cup. This horse is a genuine two-mile contender who defeated the Irish duo of Absurde and Vauban last year and has claims to do so again this spring.
Confirmed Jockeys for Likely Melbourne Cup 2024 Horses
1. Vauban (FR) (Willie Mullins) to be ridden by William Buick (55.5kg)
2. Circle Of Fire (GB) (Ciaron Maher) to be ridden by Mark Zahra (54.5kg)
3. Buckaroo (GB) (Chris Waller) to be ridden by Joao Moreira (54.5kg)
4. Warp Speed (JPN) (Noboru Takagi) to be ridden by Akira Sugawara (54.5kg)
5. Sharp ‘n’ Smart (NZ) (Graeme & Deborah Rogerson) to be ridden by Michael Dee (53.5kg)
6. Kovalica (NZ) (Chris Waller) to be ridden by Damian Lane (53.5kg)
7. Just Fine (IRE) (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott) to be ridden by Jye McNeil (53kg -includes 0.5kg penalty)
8. Land Legend (FR) (Chris Waller) to be ridden by Zac Purton (53kg – includes 1.0kg penalty)
9. Absurde (FR) (Willie Mullins) to be ridden by Kerrin McEvoy (52.5kg)
10. Athabascan (FR) (John O’Shea & Tom Charlton) to be ridden by Zac Lloyd (a) (52kg)
11. Mahrajaan (USA) (Shaune Ritchie & Tom Charlton) to be ridden by Declan Bates (52kg)
12. Knight’s Choice (John Symons & Sheila Laxon) to be ridden by Robbie Dolan (51.5kg)
13. Okita Soushi (IRE) (Ciaron Maher) to be ridden by Jamie Kah (51kg – includes 1.0kg penalty)
14. Onesmoothoperator (USA) (Brian Ellison) to be ridden by Craig Williams (51kg – includes 1.0kg penalty)
15. Zardozi (James Cummings) to be ridden by Andrea Atzeni (51kg)
16. Sea King (GB) (Harry Eustace) to be ridden by Hollie Doyle (50kg)
17. Valiant King (GB) (Chris Waller) to be ridden by Craig Newitt (50.5kg)
18. Interpretation (IRE) (Ciaron Maher) to be ridden by Teo Nugent (50kg)
19. Fancy Man (IRE) (Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald) to be ridden by Ronnie Stewart (50kg)
20. Mostly Cloudy (IRE) (Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young) to be ridden by Karis Teetan (50kg)
21. The Map (Dan Clarken & Oopy MacGillvray) to be ridden by Rachel King (50kg)
22. Positivity (NZ) (Andrew Forsman) to be ridden by Winona Costin (50kg)
23. Mission Of Love (John Symons & Shelia Laxon) to be ridden by Nikita Beriman (50kg)
24. Trust In You (NZ) (Bruce Wallace & Grant Cooksley) to be ridden by Mark Du Plessis (50kg)
