2017 Melbourne Cup trifecta tips

THE Melbourne Cup is only days away and if you haven’t already, sign up to Neds.com.au for a chance to win $1 million on Australia’s greatest race.

There are many different Melbourne Cup betting options for punters, but one of the most popular is the trifecta. With the betting pools reaching record levels every year, trifecta payouts are big and are definitely worth targeting.

Exotic betting options pay out handsomely because they are harder to predict, but even with the favoured runners featuring in the first three the results are the risk. The 2016 trifecta paid over $1200 and that included each way hopes Hartnell and Almandin.

Punters get an even betting market in 2017 and we’re predicting another four-figure trifecta payout, so we’ve provided our four best trifecta tips so punters can cash up for Oaks and Emirates day later in the carnival.

2017 Melbourne Cup betting market

No.	Silks	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1		Hartnell	James Cummings	Damian Lane	12	57.5kg	$31
2		Almandin	Robert Hickmott	Frankie Dettori	14	56.5kg	$9
3		Humidor	Darren Weir	Blake Shinn	13	56kg	$11
4		Tiberian	Alain Couetil	Oliver Peslier	23	55.5kg	$26
5		Marmelo	Hughie Morrison	Hugh Bowman	16	55kg	$8.50
6		Red Cardinal	Andreas Wohler	Kerrin McEvoy	24	55kg	$18
7		Johannes Vermeer	Aiden O’Brien	Ben Melham	3	54.5kg	$9.50
8		Bondi Beach	Robert Hickmott	Michael Walker	1	54kg	$67
9		Max Dynamite	William Mullins	Zac Purton	2	54kg	$14
10		Ventura Storm	David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig	Glen Boss	6	54kg	$34
11		Who Shot Thebarman	Chris Waller	Tommy Berry	20	54kg	SCR
12		Wicklow Brave	William Mullins	Stephen Baster	8	54kg	$67
13		Big Duke	Darren Weir	Brenton Avdulla	5	53.5kg	$19
14		US Army Ranger	Joseph O’Brien	Jamie Spencer	22	53.5kg	$67
15		Boom Time	David & Ben Hayes & Tom Dabernig	Cory Parish	9	53kg	$34
16		Gallante	Robert Hickmott	Michael Dee	18	53kg	$91
17		Libran	Chris Waller	Dwayne Dunn	7	53kg	$41
18		Nakeeta	Iain Jardine	Glyn Schofield	19	53kg	$41
19		Single Gaze	Nick Olive	Kathy O’Hara	11	53kg	$41
20		Wall Of Fire	Hugo Palmer	Craig Williams	15	53kg	$11
21		Thomas Hobson	William Mullins	Joao Moreira	21	52kg	$19
22		Rekindling	Joseph O’Brien	Corey Brown	4	51.5kg	$12
23		Amelie’s Star	Darren Weir	Dean Yendall	10	51kg	$21
24		Cismontane	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Beau Mertens	17	50kg	$67

Melbourne Cup trifecta top pick

	7. Johannes Vermeer (3) (IRE)	$10
	Jockey: Ben Melham 54.5kg
	Trainer: Aidan O’Brien (Lloyd Williams)
	5yo Bay Stallion

Johannes Vermeer was our top pick for the 2017 Caulfield Cup and it hasn’t shown us any reason to jump off now.

The six-year-old international raider is trained by master horseman Aidan O’Brien, who is desperately seeking success in Australia’s biggest race.

The son of Galileo is one of the best-performed Europeans to come over and contest the Melbourne Cup and that quality form has already been franked with a placing in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes and the Group 1 Caulfield Cup.

Before coming to Australia Johannes Vermeer had multiple group three wins and a group one win in his two-year-old season. That form has carried over as an older horse and punters are getting a great price for the top pick.

$10 for a runner which could have won the Caulfield Cup with some luck is a great price and it’s going to give the trifecta a big boost.

We suggest including Johannes Vermeer in your selections as we can’t see it finishing out of the first three.

Melbourne Cup trifecta second pick

	2. Almandin (14) (GER)	$9
	Jockey: Frankie Dettori 56.5kg
	Trainer: Robert Hickmott (Lloyd Williams)
	8yo Bay Gelding

We’re not leaving out last year’s champion Almandin, considering the former import is in better form than it was last season.

The German-bred eight-year-old has had only three runs since winning in 2016, but he’s set for the Melbourne Cup every year and he looks in prime condition to score a rare Melbourne Cup double.

Its first run this campaign came at Moonee Valley where it finished a quality second over 2040m. That performance subsequently had bookmakers firming its odds for the Melbourne Cup and they shortened even further after his win in the JRA Trophy.

Winning second-up at Flemington wasn’t expected from a 3200m winner and the ease of that victory was impressive. He wasn’t quite up to his best when running fourth in the Bart Cummings last time out, but carrying 60kg was a big factor in that run.

The son of Monsun is travelling sweetly for its back-to-back Melbourne Cup attempt and we’re predicting that most punters have it as the fashionable choice.

Melbourne Cup trifecta third pick

	19. Single Gaze (11) (AUS)	$41
	Jockey: Kathy O’Hara 53kg
	Trainer: Nick Olive
	5yo Chestnut Mare

Single Gaze produced an incredible run for second in the Caulfield Cup and we think that’s one of the best form guides for the 2017 Melbourne Cup.

The Nick Olive-trained mare from Canberra looks a real staying talent for the future after doing all the donkey work in the Caulfield Cup and still finishing a close second behind Boom Time.

The five-year-old was positioned in second behind runaway leader Sir Isaac Newton and she had to drag the field up to the leader. Typically when that happens the horse finishes well down the track, but Single Gaze stuck on resolutely and almost won the race.

That bodes well for the increase in distance next Tuesday and at odds of $41 and $10.50 to place at Neds, we’re not leaving out this quality mare at big odds.

Melbourne Cup trifecta fourth pick

	5. Marmelo (16) (GB)	$8.50
	Jockey: Hugh Bowman 55kg
	Trainer: Hughie Morrison
	5yo Bay Gelding

Marmelo was always going to need the hit out in the Caulfield Cup and punters were pleased with the result.

The Hughie Morrison-trained five-year-old only broke maiden grades in July of last year, but he has made big strides since. The French-performed runner has won twice since, which included wins at group three and group two level.

French form should always be respected in Australia as it stacks up well against our top staying thoroughbreds and Marmelo looks like a classic two-miler.

It was sitting 14th at the 400m mark in the Caulfield Cup, so to run sixth was a big final sectional and that has punters extremely confident heading into the Melbourne Cup.

The $8.50 is a touch short for our liking, but that price is going to boost trifecta payouts and that’s what we’re looking for.

Melbourne Cup trifecta tips and how to play them

• 7. Johannes Vermeer
• 2. Almandin
• 19. Single Gaze
• 5. Marmelo

We suggest boxing all four runners up in a Melbourne Cup trifecta which will cost $24 for a full unit.

Alternatively, punters can pick the correct finishing order (1st, 2nd, 3rd) for maximum returns, but there’s significant risk in this strategy and we suggest boxing the runners up for the easiest outcome.

There is also the option to include our four selections to finish first or second and having the “field” to finish third. This option will cost in the range of $25 for 10 percent, but it’s a good option if they third horse pays a big place dividend.

Here’s how to fill out the two Melbourne Cup bets at Neds.com.au:

How To Fill Out 2017 Melbourne Cup Boxed Four Trifecta

This bet will cost your $24 for a $1 investment. That means that when it wins you will get 100% of the full declared dividend.

How To Fill Out 2017 Melbourne Cup Boxed Four From Field Trifecta

This bet will cost your $252 for a $1 investment, but you can use the Flexi betting option to reduce your cost (outlay). If $252 is a bit rich; then you can enter 0.1 in the “Stake Per Combo” box and it will reduce the bet to $25.20. In this case when the bet wins your will get 10% of the declared trifecta divided, but with the field selected for third; you only need to have correctly selected first and second across the line and you will win the trifecta.

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