Melbourne Cup full field and barrier draw: Buckaroo, Half Yours earn nice gates as James McDonald faces uphill battle
Updated . First published
Pre-race favourite and Caulfield Cup winner Half Yours has received some luck ahead of the Lexus Melbourne Cup following the official barrier draw on Saturday evening.
The in-form gelding has drawn barrier eight for the $10 million race at Flemington and will be given every chance with Jamie Kah in the saddle.
The full field was confirmed at Flemington as connections of all 24 runners learned their fates for the race that stops the nation on Tuesday afternoon.
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Chris Waller's biggest hope in the race, Buckaroo, drew barrier 12 while highly-touted overseas import Al Riffa will jump from gate 19 over the two-mile trip.
Buckaroo at the Cox Plate. Racing Photos via Getty Images
Changingoftheguard gets the widest gate with barrier 24, while the tough Athabascan will jump from the inside draw in the race that stops the nation.
The world's best jockey, James McDonald, faces an uphill battle after his mount - Irish import Meydaan - drew barrier 22 at the official announcement.
Here's the full field and barriers heading into the Melbourne Cup.
Melbourne Cup full field and barrier draw
1. Al Riffa (19) - Joseph O'Brien - Mark Zahra - 59kg
2. Buckaroo (12) - Chris Waller - Craig Williams - 57kg
3. Arapaho (15) - Bjorn Baker - Rachel King - 56.5kg
4. Vauban (2) - Waterhouse and Bott - Blake Shinn - 56.5kg
Vauban Getty
5. Chevalier Rose (5) - Hisashi Shimizu - Damian Lane - 55.5kg
6. Presage Nocturne (9) - Alessandro Botti - Stephane Pasquier - 55.5kg
7. Middle Earth (13) - Ciaron Maher - Ethan Brown - 54.5kg
8. Meydaan (22) - Simon and Ed Crisford - James McDonald - 54kg
9. Absurde (4) - Willie Mullins - Kerrin McEvoy - 53.5kg
10. Flatten The Curve (17) - Henk Grewe - Thore Hammer Hansen - 53.5kg
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11. Land Legend (16) - Chris Waller - Joao Moreira - 53.5kg
12. Smokin' Romans (11) - Ciaron Maher - Ben Melham - 53.5kg
13. Changingoftheguard (24) - Kris Lees - Tim Clark - 53kg
14. Half Yours (8) - Tony and Calvin McEvoy - Jamie Melham - 53kg
Jamie Melham aboard Half Yours Racing Photos via Getty Images
15. More Felons (23) - Chris Waller - Tommy Berry - 53kg
16. Onesmoothoperator (6) - Brian Ellison - Harry Coffey - 53kg
17. Furthur (7) - Andrew Balding - Michael Dee - 52kg
18. Parchment Party (3) - William Mott - Johnny Velazquez - 52kg
19. Athabascan (1) - John O'Shea and Tom Charlton - Declan Bates - 51.5kg
20. Goodie Two Shoes (20) - Joseph O'Brien - Wayne Lordan - 51.5kg
21. River of Stars (14) - Chris Waller - Beau Mertens - 51.5kg
22. Royal Supremacy (21) - Ciaron Maher - Robbie Dolan - 51kg
23. Torranzino (18) - Paul Preusker - Celine Gaudray - 51kg
24. Valiant King (10) - Chris Waller - Jye McNeil - 51kg