German stayer Protectionist has recorded a stunning win from Red Cadeaux and Who Shot Thebarman in the 2014 Melbourne Cup at Flemington this afternooon.
Jockey Ryan Moore settled Protectionist in a position in the middle of the Melbourne Cup field and the talented galloper received a lovely track into the race before showing a most impressive turn-of-foot to storm clear of the rest of the field to score one of the most impressive wins in the history of ‘the race that stops a nation’.
For more information visit out complete 2014 Melbourne Cup Results.
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Update: We will know the 2014 Melbourne Cup results in just over two and a half hours, but there has been plenty of late support in betting for Johnny Murtagh-trained Mutual Regard.
Mutual Regard will be making his debut at Group 1 level in the Melbourne Cup, but he is taking winning form into the race after he produced a career best performance to take out the Ebor Handicap (2813m) at York in his final race start before making the trip to Australia.
The progressive stayer was available at 2014 Melbourne Cup odds of $13 when the final field was released on Saturday night, but there has been a constant stream of support for the son of Hernando and he is now in to $9 to deliver jockey Damien Oliver a fourth Melbourne Cup victory.
There has also been some betting support for Lucia Valentina ($7) and she remains steady at a quote of $7, while Admire Rakti remains on track to start the 2014 Melbourne Cup as favourite.
The 2014 Melbourne Cup results will be known in just under six hours and there is still plenty of time to back the winner of the $6 million event that will be contested at Flemington at 2 o’clock this afternoon.
Admire Rakti is set to start the 2014 Melbourne Cup at Flemington this afternoon as favourite. Photo by: Race Horse Photos Australia
Admire Rakti has been favourite in 2014 Melbourne Cup betting markets since he stormed home late to record an impressive win in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 11 and he is set to maintain his position at the top of betting.
The Japanese stayer has not recorded back-to-back wins since 2012, but his performance in the Caulfield Cup was most impressive and his form is even stronger over 3200 meters after he took out the Group 3 Diamond Stakes (3419) in Tokyo last year and finished second in the Group 2 Daishoten Stakes (3016m) in March.
Fawkner and Lucia Valentina are rated the best of the local chances in the 2014 Melbourne Cup field and they are both currently available at a quote of $7.50 to take out the staying championship of the world.
Lucia Valentina worked home strongly to finish an unlucky third behind Admire Rakti in the Caulfield Cup and the fact that her sectionals in the concluding stages of the race were the best suggests that she should be able to run out a strong 3200 metres.
Fawkner made up plenty of ground late to finish sixth in the Melbourne Cup last year and connections believe that his lead-up form heading into the 2014 edition of the race has been even stronger after he took out the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) on October 11 and finished second in both the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 13 and the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 25.
Protectionist has been a slight drifter in Melbourne Cup betting markets and he is out to a quote of $8, but there are still plenty of horse racing experts that believe the German stayer is the horse to beat in ‘the race that stops a nation’.
The Monsun entire took out the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay (3000m) at Deauville in August before he made the trip to Australia and he had his Melbourne Cup odds slashed after he made up plenty of ground late to finish fourth in the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes (2400m) at Caulfield on October 11.
The only other horse that is available at single figure Melbourne Cup odds is progressive stayer Signoff, who is priced at a quote of $8 after being on offer for over $50 less than a week ago.
Signoff secured a place in the Melbourne Cup field by taking out the Group 3 Lexus Stakes (2500m) at Flemington on Saturday and he looks to be the best weighted horse in the race – despite the fact that he will carry half a kilogram more than his allocated after jockey Joao Moreira was unable to get down to ride the stayer at 51 kilograms.
The market mover in Melbourne Cup betting markets this morning has been Johnny Murtagh-trained Mutual Regard, who is now into a quote of $10, while there has also been plenty of support for Who Shot Thebarman ($26 into $21), Willing Foe ($31 into $26) and My Ambivalent ($51 into $34).
OTI Racing have Brambles ($41 out to $61), Gatewood ($67 out to $71), Au Revoir ($67 out to $81) and Lidari ($41 out to $71) in the Melbourne Cup field, but all four have been friendless in betting and the likes of Seismos ($34 out to $81), Royal Diamond ($51 out to $81) and Opinion ($51 out to $61) have also received little support.
The 2014 Melbourne Cup will be run at Flemington at 3.00 (AEDT) this afternoon and you will be able to find all the Melbourne Cup results at horseracing.com.au.
