Ensureing you have the right resources is a key to ensuring you select a winner.  Below are two key links, the Melbourne Cup form at racenet.com.au and also a very useful tool at Racing and Sports that allows you to search each runner (and any other horse) to review their complete history.  A very cool feature is also the head2head where you can visaully see how one horse has raced against another.

Enjoy:

Melbourne Cup Form

Melbourne Cup Runners Tool

Perhaps one of the most exciting horses to watch last spring carnival, Profound Beauty is out of the 2009 Melbourne Cup. Two-time Melbourne Cup winning training Dermot Weld will not have a runner in this years Melbourne Cup after the 2008 5th placed runner was ruled out. Profound Beauty was all set to make the trip with the connections paying up for the second lot of declarations.

In September Glenn Boss told Weld that he would not be riding Profound Beauty and has instead decided to take up the ride on 3 year old filly Irish Lights which downed the subsequent winner Avenue in the Caulfield Thousnad Guineas last start.

You can still get Profound Beauty at $210 on betfair, no listing for Irish Lights as yet

Bart Cummings has begun his quest for a 13th Melbourne Cup confirming last years winner Viewed and AJC Derby winner Roman Emperor in Sydney undertaking light trackwork after the post Autumn carnival spells. The last AJC Derby winner to kick on and win the Melbourne Cup as a four year old was Phar Lap in 1930.

In other Melbourne Cup news, it appears that the fall-out of EI from 2007 will continue to keep Japanses horses away from the Melbourne Cup, which for the locals is probably a good thing with the way Deltra Blues and Pop Rock put everyone to the sword in 2006. At least the likes of Viewed, Efficient and Tuesday Joy will be able to continue their punishment of those from the UK, one way to ensure the Cup stays down-under.

And finally for those in New Zealand, it looks like Cambridge is looking to set itself as New Zealand’s offical Melbourne Cup region with plans to host NZ’s large, most public Melbourne Cup celebration this year. Why Cambridge you ask? Well, it has been the home of 14 Melbourne Cup winners, with eight having an association with Cambridge Stud. So if you are in NZ and want to embrace the Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November then Cambridge is your place, almost as good as being there. For more information visit, The First Tuesday Trust.