Equal favourite Constantinople has drawn perfectly at gate seven at todya’s barrier draw for Tuesday’s Group 1 $8m Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.
Mer De Glace, above, drew barrier 2 in the 2019 Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
The Lindsay Park trained European import moved to the top of the Melbourne Cup market order at Ladbrokes.com.au following his eye catching fourth to Mer De Glace in the Group 1 $5.15m Stella Artois Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 19.
Champion jockey Joao Moreira will fly out from Hong Kong to partner Constantinople after Glen Boss was forced to miss the ride because of a careless riding suspension.
Moreira will be able to find a position one off the fence in the middle of the pack for the $7.50 equal favourite and work his way through the field if the import is good enough.
Caulfield Cup winner Mer De Glace has also drawn in close at barrier two and Damien Lane is looking to win the big Cups Double on the Japanese trained raider.
Mer De Glace was able to win the Caulfield Cup from barrier seventeen and has joined Constantinople as the $7.50 equal favourite and is certain to get a better run from an inside gate.
Last year’s winner Cross Counter will get his chance for back to back wins in the Melbourne Cup after drawing barrier five and is well in the market at $13.
Kerrin McEvoy rode Cross Counter to victory last year but English jockey William Buick will be in charge of the reins on the Charlie Appleby trained stayer on Tuesday.
McEvoy will be on the Chris Waller trained Finche who drew nicely at gate four while his stablemate Youngstar will jump from gate mine with Tommy Berry in the saddle.
Finche ran a mighty race when fourth in the 2018 Melbourne Cup and is marked at $10 while Youngstar wasn’t that far behind in sixth position but is rated as one of the outsiders of this year’s field at $41.
Final field and barrier draw for the 2019 Melbourne Cup (3200m)
| No | Last 10 | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Barrier | Weight | Hcp Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12x1x1x434 | CROSS COUNTER (GB) | Charlie Appleby | William Buick | 5 | 57.5kg | 118 | |
| 2 | 211x11x1x1 | MER DE GLACE (JPN) | Hisashi Shimizu | Damian Lane | 2 | 56kg | 117 | |
| 3 | 7250×14335 | MASTER OF REALITY (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Frankie Dettori | 1 | 55.5kg | 118 | |
| 4 | 2x0x1322x3 | MIRAGE DANCER (GB) | Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | Ben Melham | 13 | 55.5kg | 115 | |
| 5 | 37×3264413 | SOUTHERN FRANCE (IRE) | Ciaron Maher & David Eustace | Mark Zahra | 14 | 55.5kg | 113 | |
| 6 | 3344465881 | HUNTING HORN (IRE) | Aidan O’Brien | Seamie Heffernan | 11 | 55kg | 115 | |
| 7 | 220×344216 | LATROBE (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | James McDonald | 22 | 55kg | 112 | |
| 8 | 4x1x723516 | MUSTAJEER (GB) | Kris Lees | Damien Oliver | 6 | 55kg | 114 | |
| 9 | 251557×790 | ROSTROPOVICH (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Dwayne Dunn | 12 | 55kg | 111 | |
| 10 | 423x2411x7 | TWILIGHT PAYMENT (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | Hugh Bowman | 19 | 55kg | 113 | |
| 11 | x1x34x5125 | FINCHE (GB) | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 4 | 54kg | 113 | |
| 12 | 8x49x58321 | PRINCE OF ARRAN (GB) | Charlie Fellowes | Michael Walker | 8 | 54kg | 113 | |
| 13 | 1x6x237x4x | RAYMOND TUSK (IRE) | Richard Hannon | Jamie Spencer | 3 | 54kg | 113 | |
| 14 | x196112x31 | DOWNDRAFT (IRE) | Joseph O’Brien | John Allen | 15 | 53.5kg | 111 | |
| 15 | 2×53220224 | MAGIC WAND (IRE) | Aidan O’Brien | Ryan Moore | 24 | 53.5kg | 114 | |
| 16 | 2x30x80709 | NEUFBOSC (FR) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Luke Nolen | 23 | 53.5kg | 106 | |
| 17 | 00x048x070 | SOUND (GER) | Michael Moroney | James Winks | 10 | 53.5kg | 107 | |
| 18 | 1514132×41 | SURPRISE BABY (NZ) | Paul Preusker | Jordan Childs | 20 | 53.5kg | 111 | |
| 19 | 531×212224 | CONSTANTINOPLE (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Joao Moreira | 7 | 52.5kg | 114 | |
| 20 | 322×17135 | IL PARADISO (USA) | Aidan O’Brien | Wayne Lordan | 17 | 52.5kg | 111 | |
| 21 | x11111x467 | STEEL PRINCE (IRE) | Anthony Freedman | Brett Prebble | 16 | 52.5kg | 108 | |
| 22 | 0141×59195 | THE CHOSEN ONE (NZ) | Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman | Tim Clark | 18 | 52kg | 111 | |
| 23 | 1x36621x42 | VOW AND DECLARE | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 21 | 52kg | 113 | |
| 24 | x059x87873 | YOUNGSTAR | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 9 | 52kg | 107 |
The post Constantinople draws perfect 2019 Melbourne Cup barrier appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au.
