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Melbourne Cup favourite Vauban is \u201cas good a thing\u201d to have come out of Europe for the race, according to prominent owner Nick Williams, whose father Lloyd has won the famous race seven times.<\/p>\n
Vauban drew barrier three on Saturday evening for Tuesday\u2019s Cup, and remains the horse to beat according to bookmakers, while stablemate Absurde will jump from gate eight.<\/p>\n
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Irish trainer Willie Mullins at Saturday\u2019s barrier draw at Flemington.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n Caulfield Cup winner Without A Fight drew barrier 16, while last year\u2019s winner Gold Trip will jump from gate two. Soulcombe, who missed the start in the Caulfield Cup, scored barrier four.<\/p>\n Williams, who will be represented by Cleveland (barrier 23) and Serpentine (barrier one) as the family chases its eighth Cup, said the Willie Mullins-trained stayer looked awfully hard to beat.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, the favourite looks like it\u2019s probably a good thing, but stranger things have happened,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s as good a thing as I\u2019ve seen in the Melbourne Cup, that I can remember.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a tough, older horse. This is a properly seasoned, beautifully conditioned horse.<\/p>\n \u201cThose three horses at the top, Gold Trip, Without A Fight and Vauban, certainly they\u2019ve got a lot of class on the field. We\u2019ll see what pans out on the day. They are three fantastic horses.\u201d<\/p>\n Mullins, who arrived in Melbourne from Ireland on Saturday morning and visited his horses at Werribee, said he may never have a better Cup chance than Vauban. It\u2019s 30 years since the cup first went to the northern hemisphere, with Vintage Crop and Irish great Dermot Weld in 1993.<\/p>\n Vauban is the race favourite for Tuesday\u2019s Melbourne Cup.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Racing Photos \/ Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n Mullins has twice placed in the Cup, with Max Dynamite, in 2015 and 2017.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the best chance we\u2019ve ever had and will ever have,\u201d Mullins said of Vauban.<\/p>\n \u201cI love having favourites. You\u2019ve got the best chance if you\u2019ve got the favourite.<\/p>\n \u201cAt one time I used to hate having favourites because it brings pressure, but now I don\u2019t. I\u2019d rather have the favourite than an outsider.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether Vauban has beaten the handicapper, Mullins said: \u201cI think we still have a few pounds left in the tank, yeah.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a nice draw. Everything has gone right,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe quarantine has gone right, the draw\u2019s gone right. We just need to break now and get into a position, but I\u2019ll leave that to the jockeys. They know the track and opposition better than I do. We\u2019ve done our job now.\u201d<\/p>\n Japanese horse Breakup drew barrier 18, and trainer Tatsuya Yoshioka – speaking via a translator – said that would suit the horse.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t finish off well in the Caulfield Cup, but Yoshioka put that down to a hot tempo and being first-up from a long break. He said Breakup would improve to 3200 metres and to Flemington.<\/p>\n Japanese galloper Breakup.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cSince the race he\u2019s really conditioned up, he\u2019s tightened up and looks better and feels better, so I\u2019m happy with him,\u201d Yoshioka said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe came all the way from Japan to race in this Melbourne Cup, he\u2019s here to win, so we hope he will.\u201d<\/p>\n Gold Trip drew inside Vauban in barrier two, but trainer Ciaron Maher said he would have preferred to swap his barrier with Future History\u2019s, who will jump from gate 13 under Hollie Doyle.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were hoping for around the middle somewhere just because he likes to get out a bit, but you never pass up a good gate for the horse as well. What will be will be,\u201d Maher said of Gold Trip.<\/p>\n Maher, who has five runners in the race, said Right You Are\u2019s barrier 15 was a perfect gate with John Allen likely to race midfield with cover while Ashrun drew barrier 11 after qualifying when he ran second in the Geelong Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cHe definitely runs a strong two mile. He has got a light weight and has had a brilliant prep. He is a bit of a sneaky [chance],\u201d Maher said of Ashrun.<\/p>\n Interpretation is the stable\u2019s other representative, to jump from barrier 17.<\/p>\n As for Team Williams, they\u2019re searching for their first win since 2020 when Twilight Payment led from start to finish under Jye McNeil.<\/p>\n McNeil rides Serpentine, while Mick Dee rides Cleveland for the camp, fresh off his win in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup.<\/p>\n Serpentine failed in last year\u2019s Cup off the short three-day back-up, but Williams said his third in the Bart Cummings was terrific.<\/p>\n \u201cThe form I think going through the Newcastle Cup, Metrop and St Leger, the two bits of form I like locally are it and the Bart Cummings,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth our horses are going well, whether they\u2019ve got the class to win, I don\u2019t know, but we\u2019ll know that on Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether the family could win an eighth Cup, Williams said: \u201cWe\u2019ve got two runners that are in the final field, so we\u2019ve got a chance. They\u2019re not easy to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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