Champion hoop James McDonald has no qualms around Via Sistina’s wide alley for the Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday as the pair bid to back up their Cox Plate conquest.
Tony McEvoy recalls a young Jamie Melham ‘knocking off’ his horses before joining forces with the woman who would ultimately deliver him a Melbourne Cup.
Favourite Gringotts has gone back-to-back in Randwick’s Listed $3 million Big Dance (1600m), again beating Vivvy Air for the second year running and giving his trainer Ciaron Maher the race trifecta.
The glamour of the Melbourne Cup hasn't been dulled for spectators battling cold and drizzly conditions in the lead-up to Australia's most famous race. But they have had to dodge puddles.