All The Good will need a miricle to make the Melbourne Cup field Tuesday 4th November, with trainer Saeed Bin Suroor reporting that there was no improvement on it’s foreleg leg this morning at Sandown.

At the moment my top 4 for the Melbourne Cup is:

All The Good
Profound Beauty
Gollopin
Littorio

Previously, it was:

All The Good
Sirmione
Profound Beauty
Littorio

If All The Good comes out as expected and with the Saab Quality still to be run, we are looking at

Profound Beauty
Gollopin
Littorio
Boundless

This will more then likely be my top four, I have rated Profound Beauty since it came out a G.Boss got on. Gollopin has been consistant in it’s runs and more importantly times, 18 starts for 8 wins and I think at $26 /$6 is great value. Boundless is has posted some good runs and is a great rough hope,

But the one that I really like at the odds is Littorio who has really come under the radar I think from it’s 5th in the Caulfield Cup. Everyone has been talking about Mad Rush and the way it finished, which was impressive, but Oliver sat back had a rails run and raced for luck through the middle. Littorio was 2 wide most of the race and 3-4 wide at the turn going around the likes of Ice Chariot, and still came home strongly, doing all the hard work.

Littorio is in form and a top quality horse, it has beaten Weekend Hussler, anyone recall this horse. People were talking about it taking all three major Spring races, Cox and both Cups, but was found out that it could not stay. But Littorio has proven to be able to stay, winning at 2000m, and 5th in the Caulfield Cup. It has also had a 3rd in the Australian Derby over 2400m which was won by …Nom Du Jeu, the current melbournecupguide.com readers choice.

There used to be a theory that the Melbourne Cup horse had to race on the Saturday, Derby Day, but has not really held true over the last number of years. Well we’ll get a look at Littorio this weekend racing in the Mackinnon, the last to race on the Saturday and win was Brew in 2000. It finished 2nd to Yippyio (Who then finished 2nd in the Melbourne Cup) in the Moonee Valley Cup, Brew qualified for the Melbourne Cup by winning the The Dalgety on Derby Day.

So again my top 4, each way Gollopin and Boundless, something on Profound Beauty to cover, but most of my hard earned will be on Littorio.

Profound Beauty
Gollopin
Littorio
Boundless

The below is an article from Racenet that I thought you would all be interested in

Guillotine To Win Cup – Hussler, Littorio a risk
By Sean Bartholomew

I have laid Guillotine at Racing Odds to win almost $1m in the Caulfield Cup, through a series of bets in the last few weeks, with question marks over his ability to make it into the field.

Now that he has qualified we’ll be running for cover at Racing Odds as with its postage stamp weight of 51.5kg, and getting out to the 2400m journey (he is a half brother to Melbourne Cup and Derby winner Efficient after all!) I think he is a fantastic chance to take out the Cup at 9.00 despite his wide draw.
Saturday looms as a fantastic betting day across the 10 race card, with the time honoured Caulfield Cup the feature.

The Caulfield Cup has of recent times dropped off in standard, and become somewhat of a lead-up race for the Melbourne Cup as many trainers avoid the race with their horses to ensure they don’t receive a weight penalty for the Melbourne Cup (think Zipping, Efficient and Tuesday Joy prior to her bleeding attack), as the first Tuesday in November is the holy grail.

While I concede that Guillotine is terrific value, the other horse at a bit of a price which I’d suggest punters have a go at is Maldivian. At the $17 quote I certainly think he can run a cheeky race each-way. In all 5 runs this prep he has hit the lead in the straight, only to be run down. I just feel with the step up to 2400m, that the tempo won’t be as solid as it has been in his lead up runs at WFA over shorter trips, and as such will leave him with a bit more of a kick as he approaches the final furlong. And $17 certainly seems a juicy price considering he was being offered up at $2.50 in last year’s Caulfield Cup.

As for the rest I think this is a race to bet around the favourites.

Weekend Hussler is a HUGE risk at 2400m, after dropping out badly last time at his first try at 2000m, albeit with a suspect ride. And for all the plaudits of Littorio’s last start victory, he did have the absolute perfect run, letting Weekend Hussler take him into the race, and peeling off his back once they hit the straight. Together with his strike rate of 2 wins from 14 starts, he is a genuine risk, as I can see him running on late, but perhaps once the others have bolted.

For those Kiwi’s out there, if you want to back Red Ruler and Boundless, back them at Racing Odds as we’ll be happy to bet top odds on those two as they make their first Australian appearance this preparation in the high octane atmosphere of a Caulfield Cup.