1. Al Riffa
Al Riffa enters the Melbourne Cup as the top weight, carrying a hefty 59kg in this afternoon’s race.
Only one horse in the last 35 years had carried 58kg or more to win, Makybe Diva in 2005.
The big weight comes as Al Riffa is a terrific horse. It has five wins from its 15 starts, including its last two races.
Its last race was in September, when the five-year-old surged in the final 400m to win the Group 1 Irish St Leger. The last horse to win the Irish St Leger and then the Melbourne Cup was Vintage Crop in 1993.
Trained by Joseph O’Brien, who has tasted Cup success with Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020), Al Riffa is a world-class horse who is expected to feature prominently at the end of the Cup.
Jockey Mark Zahra has become a master of Flemington, winning the Melbourne Cup with Gold Trip (2022) and Without A Fight (2023), and is in form after riding four winners on Derby Day on Saturday.
2. Buckaroo
Buckaroo finished ninth in the Melbourne Cup last year, after starting the race as the favourite.
In the 12 months since the last Cup, Buckaroo has continued to be a class horse by placing in four consecutive G1 races, including a narrow second in the Cox Plate, behind stablemate Via Sistina.
At 57kg, Buckaroo is carrying more weight than last year. Trained by Chris Waller, Buckaroo will this year be ridden by Craig Williams, who won the Cup on Vow And Declare (2019). Buckaroo’s last win came in September, 2024, when it was victorious in the G1 Underwood Stakes (1,800m).
3. Arapaho
Arapaho comes into this year’s Melbourne Cup with patchy form. The nine-year-old gelding was eighth in the Bendigo Cup (2,400m) and was 15th of 18 in the Metropolitan (2,400m) at Randwick in September.
It has ran in the Melbourne Cup before, finishing 11th in 2022. While considered a long shot, the distance is not an issue for this horse, who won the Sydney Cup (3,200m) in April.
Trained by Bjorn Baker, jockey Rachel King is attempting to become the second woman to ride the Melbourne Cup winner.
No nine-year-old has ever won the Melbourne Cup.
4. Vauban
Australian racing fans are well acquainted with Vauban, who has been well fancied in the previous two editions of the Melbourne Cup.
After being trained previously by Irish great Willie Mullins, Vauban is now based in Australia with trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
Vauban faded late in October’s Caulfield Cup to finish 13th, more than eight lengths behind the winner, Half Yours.
Distance is not a problem for Vauban, who has won many distance races in the past, the longest over 3,382m.
Only three eight-year-olds (Toryboy 1865, Catalogue 1938, and Twilight Payment 2020) have won the Melbourne Cup, so history is not on his side.
