Kiwis well represented in spring majors

[Wandering Eyes]

Nominations for the Gr.1 Caulfield Cup (2400m), Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m) and Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) were received on Tuesday, with the three reigning champions Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed) (Caulfield Cup), Sir Dragonet (Camelot) (Cox Plate) and Twilight Payment (Teofilo) (Melbourne Cup) headlining a star-studded list of nominations for the marquee races of the 2021 Victorian Spring Racing Carnival.

Seven-time Group One winner Verry Elleegant took her place at the top of the 170-strong list of contenders for the $5 million Caulfield Cup on 16 October. The New Zealand-bred daughter of Zed has also been nominated for the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup.

Sir Dragonet is one of 153 gallopers, including 43 three-year-olds (38 from the southern hemisphere and five from the northern hemisphere), in the running to claim The Valley’s showpiece event on 23 October.

Twilight Payment, who delivered a second Melbourne Cup last year for his Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien and a seventh for his part-owner Lloyd Williams, is one of two previous winners among the 174 horses nominated for the nation’s most famous race at Flemington on Tuesday, 2 November, alongside 2019 winner Vow And Declare (Declaration of War).

The Caulfield Cup features New Zealand-trained nominations Ocean Billy (NZ) (Ocean Park) (Bill Pomare), Beauden (NZ) (Bullbars) (Team Rogerson), Amarelinha (NZ) (Savabeel) (Jamie Richards), Quick Thinker (So You Think) (Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman) and The Chosen One (NZ) (Savabeel) (Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman).

The Caulfield Cup features 38 New Zealand-bred nominations.

The Cox Plate features New Zealand-trained nominations Elephant (NZ) (Shocking) (Emma-Lee & David Browne), Amarelinha (Jamie Richards), Avantage (Fastnet Rock) (Jamie Richards), Probabeel (NZ) (Savabeel) (Jamie Richards), Callsign Mav (NZ) (Atlante) (John Bary), Dragon Leap (Pierro) (Lance O’sullivan & Andrew Scott), Quick Thinker (Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman) and The Frontman (NZ) (Makfi) (Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman).

The Cox Plate features 34 New Zealand-bred nominations.

The Melbourne Cup features New Zealand-trained nominations Ocean Billy (Bill Pomare), Beauden (Team Rogerson), Quick Thinker (Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman), The Chosen One (Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman) and Sherwood Forest (Fastnet Rock) (Tony Pike).

The Melbourne Cup features 34 New Zealand bred nominations.

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