International racing powerhouse Godolphin have confirmed they will target the 2010 Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday November 2 with a trio of their top runners giving them their strongest assault on the Cup in years.
Campanologist, Holberg and Eastern Aria are all expected to travel to Australia for the $6 million Melbourne Cup as Godolphin attempt their first Melbourne Cup win after a number of close calls.
Godolphin have prepared three Melbourne Cup second placegetters with Central Park (1999), Give The Slip (2001) and Crime Scene (2009) but are hoping to go all the way this year and take out the $6 million handicap feature.
Currently their top chance in the Cup lies with five-year-old Holberg paying $26 in the early Melbourne Cup betting markets open at Sportsbet.
Holberg secured a chance of running in the 150th Melbourne Cup field after winning the Foundation Stakes (1992m) at Goodwood this week.
Weighted at 53.5kg in the Melbourne Cup weights, Holberg is sitting 36th in the order of entry.
The highest rated of the Godolphin contenders is dual Group 1 winner Campanologist.
Well up the entry in seventh spot, the American-bred six-year-old is at a more generous $81 quote to win the Melbourne Cup through Sportsbet.
The other surprise hopeful set to target the Melbourne Cup is Eastern Aria, a recent acquisition by Godolphin.
The five-year-old mare came into Cup contention after claiming an emphatic victory in the Park Hill Stakes at the start of the month, receiving a 1kg penalty for the victory.
The penalty pushed the Mark Johnston-trained Eastern Aria up to 39th in the Melbourne Cup ballot, her odds firming into $51 at Sportsbet.
Holberg and Campanologist will enter quarantine on Sunday in preparation for the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
The Godolphin contingent are just three of the top international horses still heading towards this year’s Melbourne Cup with Sans Frontieres the highest rated overseas raider after connections confirmed the Irish St Leger winner will head Down Under for a berth at the Cup.
Sans Frontieres and fellow European stayers Profound Beauty and Illustrious Blue are also in quarantine.
The 24-horse final Melbourne Cup field could feature as many as 12 international horses this year with seven already assured of a spot.
On Saturday the latest shipment of international Cup hopefuls will arrive in Melbourne including Luca Cumani’s Drunken Sailor and Manighar, the Lloyd Williams-owned Akmal and French champion Americain.
For the full Melbourne Cup Betting markets and access to the best odds, sign up with leading online bookmaker [sportsbet] today!
2010 Melbourne Cup Odds for Top International Contenders
| Horse | Trainer | Odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Sans Frontieres (IRE) | Jeremy Noseda | $13 |
| Manighar (FR) | Luca Cumani | $17 |
| Profound Beauty (IRE) | Dermot K Weld | $19 |
| Americain (USA) | Alain de Royer Dupre | $21 |
| Holberg (UAE) | Saeed Bin Suroor | $26 |
| Tokai Trick (JPN) | Kenji Nonaka | $31 |
| Drunken Sailor (IRE) | Luca Cumani | $31 |
| Illustrious Blue (GB) | William K Knight | $41 |
| Bauer (IRE) | Luca Cumani | $41 |
| Eastern Aria (UAE) | Mark Johnston | $51 |
| Campanologist (USA) | Saeed Bin Suroor | $31 |
| Akmal (GB) | John Dunlop | $101 |
*Odds provided by [sportsbet] and are subject to change
