Strong British and Irish entries for the 2017 Emirates Melbourne Cup including Ebor hero Nakeeta
Connections of Nakeeta reveal he has come out of the Ebor well and are set to wait on the weights before making the decision to send him Down Under
EBOR hero Nakeeta is one of a number of British and Irish horses nominated for the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 7.
Iain Jardine's Nakeeta got a deserved win at York and has come out of the race well.
"We'll probably wait until after the weights have been announced and make a decision a week or fortnight after that," said Jardine.
"Nakeeta has come out of the Ebor OK. He's fresh and happy, so all's good."
Order Of St George is one of three entered for Aidan O'Brien along with US Army Ranger and Johannes Vermeer.
Joseph O'Brien has entered Rekindling, while Willie Mullins has given the option to Wicklow Brave, Max Dynamite and Thomas Hobson.
Roger Varian's Barsanti, Dal Harraild from William Haggas' yard and Hughie Morrison's pair of Marmelo and Sweet Selection are also entered.
Sir Mark Prescott's St Michel is another eyecatching contender in a strong British challenge.
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Godolphin trainers Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor have a number of entries between them including Francis Of Assisi, who bolted up at Flemington last year, and Ebor third Natural Scenery.
Hugo Palmer has the race in mind for his Wall Of Fire.
Ed Dunlop, who finished second three times with the brilliant Red Cadeaux, has entered Red Verdon, while last year's winner Almandin is on course to defend his title.
The likes of Red Verdon, Marmelo, Rekindling and Johannes Vermeer are also entered in the BMW Caulfield Cup, in which Mullins has Riven Light too.
A total of 142 horses have been entered for the October 21 contest and Racing Victoria's Greg Carpenter is thrilled with the initial entries for both races.
He said: "We're delighted with the nominations for this year's Caulfield and Melbourne Cups with international representation once again very strong.
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"To have entries from seven international jurisdictions for our two premier handicaps is a great advertisement for the Spring Racing Carnival and Victorian racing.
"I am very encouraged by the number of international trainers with entries who have not travelled to Melbourne before and we look forward to welcoming them here and showcasing what the Spring Racing Carnival has to offer."