Equal favourite Constantinople has drawn perfectly at gate seven at todya’s barrier draw for Tuesday’s Group 1 $8m Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington.

Mer De Glace, above, drew barrier 2 in the 2019 Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

Mer De Glace, above, drew barrier 2 in the 2019 Melbourne Cup at Flemington. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.

The Lindsay Park trained European import moved to the top of the Melbourne Cup market order at Ladbrokes.com.au following his eye catching fourth to Mer De Glace in the Group 1 $5.15m Stella Artois Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield on October 19.

Champion jockey Joao Moreira will fly out from Hong Kong to partner Constantinople after Glen Boss was forced to miss the ride because of a careless riding suspension.

Moreira will be able to find a position one off the fence in the middle of the pack for the $7.50 equal favourite and work his way through the field if the import is good enough.

Caulfield Cup winner Mer De Glace has also drawn in close at barrier two and Damien Lane is looking to win the big Cups Double on the Japanese trained raider.

Mer De Glace was able to win the Caulfield Cup from barrier seventeen and has joined Constantinople as the $7.50 equal favourite and is certain to get a better run from an inside gate.

Last year’s winner Cross Counter will get his chance for back to back wins in the Melbourne Cup after drawing barrier five and is well in the market at $13.

Kerrin McEvoy rode Cross Counter to victory last year but English jockey William Buick will be in charge of the reins on the Charlie Appleby trained stayer on Tuesday.

McEvoy will be on the Chris Waller trained Finche who drew nicely at gate four while his stablemate Youngstar will jump from gate mine with Tommy Berry in the saddle.

Finche ran a mighty race when fourth in the 2018 Melbourne Cup and is marked at $10 while Youngstar wasn’t that far behind in sixth position but is rated as one of the outsiders of this year’s field at $41.

Final field and barrier draw for the 2019 Melbourne Cup (3200m)

No Last 10 Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight Hcp Rating
1 12x1x1x434 CROSS COUNTER (GB) Charlie Appleby William Buick 5 57.5kg 118
2 211x11x1x1 MER DE GLACE (JPN) Hisashi Shimizu Damian Lane 2 56kg 117
3 7250×14335 MASTER OF REALITY (IRE) Joseph O’Brien Frankie Dettori 1 55.5kg 118
4 2x0x1322x3 MIRAGE DANCER (GB) Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young Ben Melham 13 55.5kg 115
5 37×3264413 SOUTHERN FRANCE (IRE) Ciaron Maher & David Eustace Mark Zahra 14 55.5kg 113
6 3344465881 HUNTING HORN (IRE) Aidan O’Brien Seamie Heffernan 11 55kg 115
7 220×344216 LATROBE (IRE) Joseph O’Brien James McDonald 22 55kg 112
8 4x1x723516 MUSTAJEER (GB) Kris Lees Damien Oliver 6 55kg 114
9 251557×790 ROSTROPOVICH (IRE) David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Dwayne Dunn 12 55kg 111
10 423x2411x7 TWILIGHT PAYMENT (IRE) Joseph O’Brien Hugh Bowman 19 55kg 113
11 x1x34x5125 FINCHE (GB) Chris Waller Kerrin McEvoy 4 54kg 113
12 8x49x58321 PRINCE OF ARRAN (GB) Charlie Fellowes Michael Walker 8 54kg 113
13 1x6x237x4x RAYMOND TUSK (IRE) Richard Hannon Jamie Spencer 3 54kg 113
14 x196112x31 DOWNDRAFT (IRE) Joseph O’Brien John Allen 15 53.5kg 111
15 2×53220224 MAGIC WAND (IRE) Aidan O’Brien Ryan Moore 24 53.5kg 114
16 2x30x80709 NEUFBOSC (FR) David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Luke Nolen 23 53.5kg 106
17 00x048x070 SOUND (GER) Michael Moroney James Winks 10 53.5kg 107
18 1514132×41 SURPRISE BABY (NZ) Paul Preusker Jordan Childs 20 53.5kg 111
19 531×212224 CONSTANTINOPLE (IRE) David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Joao Moreira 7 52.5kg 114
20 322×17135 IL PARADISO (USA) Aidan O’Brien Wayne Lordan 17 52.5kg 111
21 x11111x467 STEEL PRINCE (IRE) Anthony Freedman Brett Prebble 16 52.5kg 108
22 0141×59195 THE CHOSEN ONE (NZ) Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman Tim Clark 18 52kg 111
23 1x36621x42 VOW AND DECLARE Danny O’Brien Craig Williams 21 52kg 113
24 x059x87873 YOUNGSTAR Chris Waller Tommy Berry 9 52kg 107

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.