Horse racing: Three Kiwi entries set for Melbourne Cup

Mahrajaan winning the NZ Cup. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand is guaranteed to have three representatives in next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup with another knocking on the door.

Cambridge mare Positivity is now a confirmed starter after her connections decided to press forward to the iconic race even though she missed the Caulfield Cup with a slight hoof issue.

She has since raced in the Moonee Valley Cup last Friday and even though unplaced, she pleased trainer Andrew Forsman with her performance.

She will be ridden by Winona Costin, who was to have ridden her in the Caulfield Cup and now gets her chance.

Positivity joins Sharp N Smart, who will be ridden by expat Kiwi jockey Mick Dee, and Auckland and New Zealand Cup winner Mahrajaan (Declan Bate) as confirmed New Zealand-trained starters in the Cup.

Positivity jumped to 23rd in the entry order yesterday after the sensation of one-time favourite Jan Brueghel being barred from competing after failing the compulsory Racing Victoria veterinary examination.

The undefeated Aidan O’Brien-trained galloper was out on track at Werribee on Tuesday morning, completing some light work just hours before the decision was made.

The Melbourne Cup-bound internationals went through their pre-race scans last Saturday.

“Reports received from an expert panel of internationally renowned equine surgeons and diagnostic imaging specialists, who reviewed Jan Brueghel’s CT scan results, indicate that the horse is currently at heightened risk of injury,” a Racing Victoria statement read.

“Following advice from RV Veterinary Services in relation to the specialist opinions from the independent imaging panel, RV stewards ordered the withdrawal of Jan Brueghel from the Melbourne Cup on the basis that he was unsuitable to compete.”

His absence and the doubts over whether sensational Cox Plate winner Via Sistina will start in the Cup has caused chaos in the market, with the market, build-up and possibly even Cup result to change depending on what Via Sistina does.

Trainer Chris Waller may even leave it as late as Saturday to make that decision.

Whether she accepts could decide is a fourth New Zealand gallloper in Trust In You makes the Cup field.

He was ranked 25th yesterday, one spot away from a start and co-trainer Grant Cooksley has confirmed he still start if he gets into the field, with Mark De Plessis to ride.

That may not be known until the field is declared around 7pm on Saturday night (NZ time).

Four New Zealand-trained horses starting in the Melbourne Cup would be a blast from the past when Kiwi horses found it easier to gain a start as the Cup wasn’t full of European-trained horses or those imported to Australian stables from that part of the world.

While it would be a refreshing change to have one-sixth of the field being New Zealand-trained horses, the bookies don’t rate their chances too high, with Positivity the most favoured of the quartet at $51.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s racing editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.