How 'too keen, too fierce' outsider Land Legend could deliver Chris Waller an unlikely Melbourne Cup
As legendary trainer Chris Waller prepares for another Melbourne Cup, the 51-year-old knows he has a better chance than most to come away with glory.
Waller has five horses in the race, which includes $6.50 chance Buckaroo.
But one horse that could throw a spanner in the works for the field is Land Legend.
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The five-year-old sits as an outsider in the field, but has firmed from $20 into $12.
TAB's form expert Grace Ramage declared it's this gelding that excites her the most in a large field.
Zac Purton riding Land Legend in the Caulfield Cup. Getty
"This horse I've got as my second top pick in the race ... he is a horse that has lengths of improvement in him if the master trainer Chris Waller can get him to settle and relax in the run," she said on Nine's Melbourne Cup Preview.
"He's been too keen, too fierce but from barrier 18 I expect they will drop him out, run him super cold, super conservative and get him to relax.
"(Jockey) Zac Purton's had a ride on him, he knows the horse better now and if he can settle, with the earmuffs in the race going on for the first time, I think he has got what it takes to run a massive race in the Melbourne Cup."
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Land Legend comes into the race after a third in the Caulfield Cup, with Purton in the saddle.
Prior to that, the five-year-old won at Randwick on October 5.