Melbourne Cup 2023 possible field

The 2023 Melbourne Cup field will be announced on Saturday, but the bulk of the runners are already locked and loaded for the November 7 race.

With defending champion Gold Trip and Vauban at the pointy end of the market, many of the contenders are almost certain to accept, no matter what the barrier draw throws at them.

Let’s take a look at the horses on the fringe of the Melbourne Cup, and what needs to go right for them to gain a start in the 3200m classic at Flemington racecourse.

The second race on the Flemington program this Saturday represents a last-minute chance for one Melbourne Cup hopeful, as the Group 3 Archer Stakes over 2500m is a ballot exempt race for the $8 million Cup on Tuesday.

Athabascan is the race favourite with online bookmakers for the Archer, and he sits in 26th position for the Melbourne Cup, but his trainer John O’Shea has confirmed that the son of Almanzor won’t back up off three days.

Ciaron Maher & David Eustace already have five runners in the Melbourne Cup and if United Nations was to claim victory in the Archer, that number would remain the same as he would jump his stablemate and Bendigo Cup winner, Interpretation.

Tim Clark is without a ride in the 2023 Melbourne Cup, but if he can pilot Mostly Cloudy to victory, he could find himself in the saddle for the third time in the race that stops the nation.

Kris Lees will be attempting to qualify a second runner for the Cup, as Kalapour will compete in the Archer Stakes and he sits on the third line of betting with United Nations, needing only a win to gain a start.

Sitting in the worst position of all runners in the Archer, Ladies Man is 25th in the order of entry, which would mean if the Allan Sharrock-trained galloper wasn’t to win the Archer Stakes, he would not earn a start in the Cup.

The 2023 Melbourne Cup field will be confirmed shortly after 1pm AEDT, while the barrier draw will take place straight after the last race on Derby Day.

2023 Melbourne Cup Likely Field

No.	Silks	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1		Gold Trip	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	James McDonald	TBC	58.5kg
2		Alenquer	Michael Moroney	Damien Oliver	TBC	56.5kg
3		Without A Fight	Anthony & Sam Freedman	Mark Zahra	TBC	56.5kg
4		Breakup	Taisuya Yoshioka	Kohei Matsuyama	TBC	55kg
5		Vauban	Willie Mullins	Ryan Moore	TBC	55kg
6		Soulcombe	Chris Waller	Joao Moreira	TBC	53.5kg
7		Absurde	Willie Mullins	Zac Purton	TBC	53kg
8		Right You Are	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	TBC	53kg
9		Vow And Declare	Danny O’Brien	Billy Egan	TBC	53kg
10		Cleveland	Kris Lees	Michael Dee	TBC	52kg
11		Ashrun	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Kerrin McEvoy	TBC	51.5kg
12		Daqiansweet Junior	Phillip Stokes	Daniel Stackhouse	TBC	51.5kg
13		Okita Soushi	Joseph O’Brien	Dylan Gibbons	TBC	51.5kg
14		Sheraz	Chris Waller	TBC	TBC	51.5kg
15		Lastotchka	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	Craig Williams	TBC	51kg
16		Magical Lagoon	Chris Waller	Beau Mertens	TBC	51kg
17		Military Mission	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Rachel King	TBC	51kg
18		Serpentine	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Jye McNeil	TBC	51kg
19		Virtuous Circle	Liam Howley	Craig Newitt	TBC	51kg
20		Future History	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Hollie Doyle	TBC	50kg
21		More Felons	Chris Waller	Jamie Kah	TBC	50kg
22		True Marvel	Matthew Smith	Ben Thompson	TBC	50kg
23		Valiant King	Joseph O’Brien	Zac Lloyd	TBC	50kg
24		Interpretation	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Teo Nugent	TBC	50kg

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