First day last lead in to Melbourne Cup

[Special Agent]

What has happened to today's staying test as a last ditch effort to gain entry to the Melbourne Cup?

Maybe it's been gone for years and I haven't been paying attention.

[Chief Stipe]

13 minutes ago, Special Agent said:

What has happened to today's staying test as a last ditch effort to gain entry to the Melbourne Cup?

Maybe it's been gone for years and I haven't been paying attention.

The name of the race was?

[Special Agent]

10 minutes ago, Chief Stipe said:

The name of the race was?

It was a race over 2500m.  One year it was the Saab.  2023 Ladies Man raced in the Lexus Archer Stakes it may have been called.  Not sure if it ran last year.

[Gammalite]

1 hour ago, Special Agent said:

What has happened to today's staying test as a last ditch effort to gain entry to the Melbourne Cup?

Maybe it's been gone for years and I haven't been paying attention.

Used to be the Moonee Valley Gold Cup the week before Cup at 2500m.

and the MacKinnon Stakes was run today , Derby Day for a lot of years .2000m . as the last lead up race for the Cup. 

Rising Fast , Let's Elope, Empire Rose, Rain Lover , At Talaq, and Rogan Josh all pulling off the Mackinnon -MC Double . the 'Mackinnon' has now shifted to the last day of the carnival so the tradition ended. . 

[Freda]

1 hour ago, Special Agent said:

What has happened to today's staying test as a last ditch effort to gain entry to the Melbourne Cup?

Maybe it's been gone for years and I haven't been paying attention.

Was the Hotham Hcp.  Moved and name changed.   McKinnon moved too but I quite like that change.

[hesi]

Begs the question, if there are no more qualifying races, why do they have to wait until Sat pm to confirm the field.  All other fields have been listed

[TAB For Ever]

5 hours ago, hesi said:

Begs the question, if there are no more qualifying races, why do they have to wait until Sat pm to confirm the field.  All other fields have been listed

Probably to give them the best possible chance to get a full field of 24 starters as they unable to list emergencies. They used to wait till after Derby day to see if Hotham/Saab/Lexus winner qualified alongv with the Derby winner !

Yes the race was Hotham Handicap for over 100 years and then had several name changes ,the best known being the Dalgety ,The Saab and more recently the Lexus ,run over 2500m and the winner was exempt from ballot in Melbourne Cup . Two well known winners since 2000 who took that route were Brew and Shocking .

Kiwi horse Sculptor [Lisa Cropp] won the race while in 1950's Wingatui horse Ark Royal featured in a triple dead-heat in the race. 

The year Shocking won the race ,then won the big one 3 days later , the Derby was won by Monaco Consul and the jockey was Corey Brown. i remember this as my boyfriend and I sat with CB at dinner for a Chinese meal...The Flower Drum , very nice too !

[Special Agent]

More geared for the internationals I suppose.  It's disappointing there are no Kiwi trained runners.  I see the Frampton colours are on the Ghibillines veteran and there is a Tarzino.

[Freda]

On 2/11/2025 at 2:50 PM, Special Agent said:

More geared for the internationals I suppose.  It's disappointing there are no Kiwi trained runners.  I see the Frampton colours are on the Ghibillines veteran and there is a Tarzino.

Yeah,  sadly - and stupidly - we have stepped away from what we used to do well and have spent a decade or more trying to focus on an earlier- developing horse, something the Aussies do better than anyone else.  And have lost our way as a result.   I see some hope with the likes of Auguste Rodin now standing here...there just needs to be opportunity and sensible programming to allow development of staying types.  Pigs might fly too.

[Chief Stipe]

2 hours ago, Freda said:

Yeah,  sadly - and stupidly - we have stepped away from what we used to do well and have spent a decade or more trying to focus on an earlier- developing horse, something the Aussies do better than anyone else.  And have lost our way as a result.   I see some hope with the likes of Auguste Rodin now standing here...there just needs to be opportunity and sensible programming to allow development of staying types.  Pigs might fly too.

It is about markets and economics.  Who in their right mind at today's costs would spend 4 to 6 years breeding and developing a stayer?  Unless you are loaded with cash of course.  Or you roll the dice and buy a developed horse from Europe with a syndicate.

As for the Aussie's focussing on earlier - developing horses haven't you noticed that many of the horses winning in OZ still have Kiwi breeding?

[Special Agent]

I've just been to the TAB.  As I thought the self serve machines are causing mayhem.  Queues out the door for the remaining terminal.  I can't think of a juvenile or sprint race that attracts so much attention.