Cross Counter in High Readiness Another win at Melbourne Cup G1

2019-11-10 18:28:39
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It is in the right direction for Godolphin to retain the Melbourne Cup title he won last year for the first time, when Cross Counter put his reputation to the test on Tuesday for his $ 8 million race.

Cross Counter has rewarded 30 years of attempt to achieve the goal for HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's stables to win the Grand Prix in Australia, rushing from last to first place to win an exciting win.

If something was almost certain about the horse's attempt to win the title for the second time, he would not be far behind in his 23 rivals at the crucial stages of Tuesday's race.

"I don't think he should be left behind from the group like last year, when there were few options but to step back from the outside," said assistant coach Charlie Appleby.

Connett pulled the gate number 5 for the crossover, whose weight in the race rose 6 kilograms from last year, another factor that William Buick should consider.

"This year William has few options but to remain in a position to move.

"It may be more difficult with that extra weight and he did what he did last year.

Cross Counter was supposed to accompany his stable companion Spolini in Melbourne Cup 2019, but the latter was withdrawn because of a problem with the man last week.

But the four-year-old British-born horse and trainee will not be the only horse in the northern hemisphere on Tuesday.

20 of the 24 Melbourne Cup participants were raised in Britain, Ireland, Japan, France, or the United States, and two started their lives from New Zealand, meaning that only two horses represent local stables in the prestigious race.

One of them is FAW & Clear, who finished second behind Mer de Glace in the Caulfield Cup G1, and his chance is lively even though he will start at Gate 21 and need to be lucky.

As Caulfield Cup is one of the most reliable indicators in Melbourne Cup, the Japanese horse Mer de Glace is once again highly regarded, as is the British-trained Raymond Tusk (Richard Hannon), who finished third in last year's race. Of Aran "(Charlie Fellowes).

The strong Irish participation consists of horses coached by Aidan O'Brien and his son Joseph, and they have seven participants.

However, Connett seems convinced that Cross Counter has handled the trip to Australia without problems, and his preparations in Australia have gone well.

He said: "He is in great shape, the trip here was smooth, the horse feels really energetic and seems motivated, and I look forward to Tuesday.

"His training has been strong with good horses, and we are very satisfied with the preparations of the horse.

"There is some pressure on him as the defending champion, but in another way there is less pressure as he did not spend a week standing on his lists in the barn as he did last year after a minor incident.

"All indications are that he is ready for today