Deauville Legend needs “everything to go right” as he seeks to justify his status as the shortest-priced British-trained runner in Melbourne Cup history in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
The James Ferguson-saddled three-year-old is as short as 5-2 favourite for the ‘race that stops a nation’, due off at 4am at Flemington.
Ferguson, who worked for Charlie Appleby when Cross Counter became the first – and so far only – British winner of the Melbourne Cup in 2018, said: “It’s an extremely competitive race – a lot of really good horses – and everything has got to go right.
“But it’s exciting to have a horse that is favourite for the Melbourne Cup, and he’s got all the attributes. I’ve always said I’ve been happy with the horse since he travelled over here, he’s got into a nice routine and he’s matured mentally since he’s been here.”
Kerrin McEvoy takes the mount aboard Deauville Legend, whose rivals include the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Without A Fight and this year’s Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal, now in the care of Gai Waterhouse.
The 41-year-old jockey is bidding for a fourth Melbourne Cup after the victories of Brew (2000), Almandin (2016) and Cross Counter, and Ferguson added: “He’s a very good friend of mine and we’ve worked together a lot in the past. He’s full of experience and he knows his way round Flemington – he knows the track unbelievably well.”
The winner of the Melbourne Cup will take home $7,750,000 (Aussie dollars) in prize money and Deauville Legend has been drawn in stall nine. In his last race, Deauville Legend won the 1m 4f Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes at York, four lengths ahead of Cox Plate third place runner El Bodegon.
But the Melbourne Cup will be new ground for Deauville Legend having never raced beyond 1m 6f and he is also unproven on soft ground. Meanwhile, Melbourne Cup day is set to one of the coldest for many years with racegoers being advised to dress for chilly weather and bring an umbrella. Temperatures are expected to be around 14C with a low of nine degrees.
