US Raider Parchment Party and St Leger Favourite Scandinavia Among 120 Melbourne Cup Nominations

[Wandering Eyes]

Parchment Party is poised to become the first US-trained runner in the G1 Lexus Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, November 4, with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez again booked to ride after partnering the son of Constitution to a wide-margin victory in June's GII Belmont Gold Cup Stakes.

The Bill Mott-trained Parchment Party was one of 120 nominations for the Melbourne Cup published on Tuesday, with his emphatic win at Saratoga earning him an automatic spot in 'the race that stops a nation'.

Leigh Jordon, executive general manager of racing for the Victoria Racing Club, confirmed at the release of the Melbourne Cup nominations on Tuesday that connections of Parchment Party intend to take on the challenge, with Velazquez set to continue his association with Pin Oak Stud's four-time winner.

“In terms of international horses, we've got a really wide representation and probably the widest representation we've had for the Cup,” said Jordon. “We've horses from England, Ireland, France, America, Germany and Japan.

“The highlight from the USA is Parchment Party and he could be our first-ever US-trained horse to run in the Melbourne Cup. He won the Grade II Belmont Gold Cup, which is one of the 'golden tickets' into the race.

“He's trained by Bill Mott who is a Hall of Fame trainer and I'm quite excited to announce that Parchment Party will be ridden by John Velazquez.

“Some of his stats are unbelievable. He's ridden over 6,700 winners in his career, he is a Hall of Fame jockey and his career earnings are over half a billion US dollars.

“He's won Kentucky Derbies, he's won all the Triple Crown races and he's won over 20 Breeders' Cup races. He truly is a legend of the sport and it's great to have him here riding in the Cup on the first Tuesday of November.”

Goodwood Cup winner and St Leger favourite Scandinavia (Justify) headlines the potential contenders from Europe. Along with Mount Kilimanjaro (Siyouni) and Aftermath (Justify), Scandinavia is one of three possible runners for Aidan O'Brien, who was forced to withdraw last year's ante-post favourite, Jan Brueghel (Galileo), after he failed a pre-race veterinary check in circumstances described by the Ballydoyle trainer as “a little bit ridiculous”.

Aidan's son Joseph O'Brien appears to hold leading claims of securing his third success in the race with his dual Group 1 winner Al Riffa (Wootton Bassett), who was subject of a recent big-money transfer to new owners Australian Bloodstock, while Willie Mullins is set to continue his quest for a first Melbourne Cup win with Absurde (Fastnet Rock) and Hipop De Loire (American Post).

Former Closutton inmate Vauban (Galiway) is on course to take part in the race once again, after finishing down the field for Mullins when among the market leaders in both 2023 and 2024. This year Vauban is one of three contenders for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, along with the former Jean-Claude Rouget trainee Sir Delius (Frankel) and multiple Group winner Alalcance (Mastercraftsman), who started her career in Ireland with Jessica Harrington.

Last year's shock winner Knight's Choice (Extreme Choice) has the chance to become the first back-to-back winner since Makybe Diva, who famously completed a hat-trick between 2003 and 2005.

Of the other big names searching more success in their country's most famous race, Ciaron Maher has 13 nominees, including last year's third Okita Soushi (Galileo), while multiple Group 1 winner Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock) is an intriguing name among 27 for Chris Waller.

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