The 2015 Melbourne Cup barrier draw has been conducted and dominant favourite Fame Game will start from the middle of the field when he jumps from barrier 12 at Flemington on Tuesday afternoon.
Criterion was one of the big winners of the 2015 Melbourne Cup barrier draw. Photo by: Steve Hart
Fame Game drew the inside barrier draw in the Caulfield Cup and jockey Zac Purton was unable to find clear running until very late in the straight, but the Japanese stayer will likely be able to find clear running much earlier in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3200m).
Recent history is against Fame Game however as no horse has won from barrier 12 in the past 30 years.
The other Japanese stayer in the 2015 Melbourne Cup field Hokko Brave did not have as much luck and he will start from an outside gate again after being allocated barrier 20.
Craig Williams is chasing his first win and he will need to find the right passage if Hokko Brave is to become the first horse since Empire Rose in 1988 to take out the Melbourne Cup from barrier 20.
One of the other big losers of the 2015 Melbourne Cup barrier draw was Team Freedman-trained Our Ivanhowe, who will jump from barrier 22 with jockey Ben Melham in the saddle on Tuesday.
Our Ivanhowe stamped himself as a genuine Melbourne Cup contender when he finished a gallant third in the Caulfield Cup and he will likely be forced to settle towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the race.
Other horses that did not fare particularly well at the 2015 Victoria Derby barrier draw include Goodwood Cup winner Big Orange (barrier 23), Roger Charlton-trained Quest For More (barrier 21), Lloyd Williams-owned Bondi Beach (barrier 18), Lexus Stakes winner Excess Knowledge (barrier 24) and Australian Oaks winner Gust Of Wind (barrier 19).
One of the big winners of the 2015 Melbourne Cup barrier draw was Criterion, who is set to receive a dream run into the race from barrier four.
Criterion will step-up to 3200 metres for the first time in the 2015 Melbourne Cup, but he took out the Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m) in Sydney last year and co-trainer David Hayes believes that the Sebring entire can run out a strong 3200 metres.
The most successful barrier in recent Melbourne Cup history has been barrier 11 and that gate is set to house Chris Waller-trained Preferment in ‘the race that stops a nation’
Preferment took out both the Group 2 Hill Stakes (2000m) and Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) before he missed the placings in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m), but his run was better than it looked on paper and he should relish the step-up to 3200 metres.
Red Cadeaux has not had a great deal of luck in running in his four Melbourne Cup tilts, but he has the opportunity to get a lovely trail into the 2015 edition of the race when he jumps from barrier eight.
Willie Mullins-trained Max Dynamite (barrier two), last year’s placegetter Who Shot Thebarman (barrier six), Godolphin-owned Sky Hunter (barrier seven), Ascot Gold Cup runner-up Kingfisher (barrier nine, Geelong Cup winner Almoonqith (barrier ten), Darren Weir-trained Prince Of Penzance (barrier one), local hope Sertorius (barrier five) and Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner The United States (barrier three) are also set to receive a nice run into the 2015 Melbourne Cup.
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