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Why every 2024 Melbourne Cup runner can - and can't - win the iconic $8.5m race
Updated . First published
Runner by runner guide
The Melbourne Cup is known as "the race that stops the nation" and at 3pm on Tuesday (AEDT) millions of eyeballs will be tuned into the best three minutes in sport.
But with 24 horses lining up at the barriers it can be tough to sort the contenders from the pretenders.
Wide World of Sports runs through every runner in the 2024 field, looking at the positives and negatives and whether they are a genuine winning chance.
READ MORE: How to watch the Melbourne Cup 2024
1. VAUBAN (55.5kg - barrier 11)
One of the big overseas imports that was highly-fancied in last year's Cup but failed to fire on the big stage.
This time around, trainer Willie Mullins has taken a different approach with the six-year-old and has him primed for the Flemington feature.
After drawing a barrier that has produced eight winners in Cup history, Vauban has stormed into favouritism with bookmakers leading into the race that stops the nation.
The gelding has produced some nice runs in England and Ireland throughout 2024 and looks to be a major player.
2. BUCKAROO (54.5kg - barrier 21)
Coming out of the Chris Waller stable, the five-year-old was fantastic in the Caulfield Cup a couple of weeks ago.
The wide barrier has hurt his chances to an extent, but the last winner from that same gate happened just five years ago.
Champion international jockey Joao Moreira will ride Bukaroo in the Cup, with the horse having his first career start at Flemington.
3. CIRCLE OF FIRE (54.5kg - barrier 24)
This horse took out the Sydney Cup earlier this year, which is like the Melbourne Cup but with a little less fanfare or prizemoney.
Mark Zahra has been appointed to ride and will be chasing his third Cup victory in a row after steering home Without A Fight and Gold Trip the past two years.
Unfortunately, the four-year-old has drawn the widest barrier and will be facing an uphill battle to win.
He hasn't been in good form throughout the spring and would need to turn things around, which will be tough considering he will be starting in the carpark.
4. WARP SPEED (54.5kg - barrier 3)
Has come over from Japan recently but was pretty disappointing in the Caulfield Cup a fortnight ago, finishing 13th in the field.
In his favour will be the dry track at Flemington considering he is yet to win or place on softer ground, which could be partially to blame for his effort on his Australian debut.
A quality stayer in the land of the rising sun, but remains a bit of an unknown.
Japanese raiders have a strong history of performing well Down Under.
5. KOVALICA (53.5kg - barrier 17)
Another horse from the Waller stable and one that the camp hopes can step up at a much longer distance range than he's used to.
Kovalica has been running against quality opposition all year long, including the recent Cox Plate, but hasn't won in more than 18 months.
The five-year-old will have one of the best jockeys in the country, Damian Lane, in the saddle for his first attempt at the 3200m trip which won't hurt.
6. SHARP 'N' SMART (53.5kg - barrier 15)
Has split his career racing between New Zealand and Australia to mixed results despite showing plenty of early potential, winning six races - the last of which came in March 2023.
Returned to Victoria this spring and hasn't exactly set the world on fire, finishing more than 10 lengths behind the winner at Randwick before placing last start at Moonee Valley.
Sharp 'N' Smart has never raced over the two-mile distance and would need to show plenty of improvement to feature in the finish on Tuesday, but will have a quality jockey in Michael Dee on board for the ride.
7. JUST FINE (53kg - barrier 13)
The only runner in the race for famous trainer Gai Waterhouse, but even she acknowledged recently the horse would need a massive turnaround in order to win the Cup after a poor run last start.
Just Fine won at Flemington a month ago but has never raced over 3200m and looks up against it in this type of field.
One thing that won't be an issue is fitness, with Waterhouse and training partner Adrian Bott running the gelding five times leading into the Cup.
Will also be boosted by Jye McNeil on board, who has won a Cup in the past with Twilight Payment in 2020.
Just Fine likes to lead and should get the chance to do so from barrier 13.
8. LAND LEGEND (53kg - barrier 18)
Placed alongside stablemate Buckaroo in this year's Caulfield Cup and has been in sound form leading into the race that stops the nation.
The four-year-old took out a prized Group 1 race four weeks ago in Sydney and will have Zac Purton in the saddle, who is back on home soil from his usual tenure in Hong Kong.
Barrier 18 is thought to be cursed and has only won once in Melbourne Cup history, but ironically it was Chris Waller who trained that champion too - Verry Elleegant in 2021.
Land Legend is expected to relish the drier track and looms as a real chance of taking out the $8 million feature event at Flemington.
9. ABSURDE (52.5kg - barrier 7)
While he hasn't raced for a while, Absurde is a proven stayer and was solid in last year's Cup, finishing seventh - better than stablemate and race favourite Vauban.
The seven-year-old has drawn a lovely gate and has been training in Werribee for a number of weeks to prepare for another tilt.
Two-time winner Kerrin McEvoy will ride the import and it looks to be one of the real chances to win the big one.
