SEVEN south-west gallopers have nominated for the $6 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 2.
Father-and-son training combination Bill and Symon Wilde have three nominations with Basaltico, Hissing Sid, and Lords Ransom paid up.
Camperdown trainer Denis Daffy has entered Miles Above, Jarrod McLean has taken the first step towards Cup glory with Cats Fun and Ciaron Maher steps up to the big time with star galloper Moudre.
Codrington trainer John Nugent has unraced three-year-old Try Pickle nominated for the Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate and Caulfield Guineas.
Legendary trainer Bart Cummings has assembled a team of 12 horses in his attempt to win the historic 150th Melbourne Cup at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.
Headlining his pursuit of a record 13th Melbourne Cup are a trio of outstanding four-year-olds Cox Plate champion So You Think, Crown Oaks winner Faint
Perfume and Queensland Derby winner Dariana.
Nominations for the Melbourne Cup (3200m), which carries record prize money of $6 million closed at noon yesterday. A total of 253 horses were entered, up from 231 last year.
Entries also closed for Australia's weight-for-age championship, the $3 million Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on 23 October, with the Wilde boys entering Lords Ransom and Maher Moudre and McLean Cats Fun.
Forty-nine international horses have been nominated across the Melbourne and Caulfield
Cups and the Cox Plate, headlined by a strong contingent from Japan.
Japanese horses had been prevented from travelling to Australia since Equine Influenza
outbreaks in both countries in 2007.
When they last competed in Australia, stablemates Delta Blues and Pop Rock finished one-two in the 2006 Melbourne Cup.
Irish trainer Dermot Weld has four horses entered for the spring features including Profound Beauty, who finished fifth as favourite in the 2008 Melbourne
Cup, and Rite Of Passage, winner of the group one Ascot Gold Cup (4000m) in June.
Like Weld's maiden Cup winner Vintage Crop (1993), Rite Of Passage has successfully
mixed jumps and flat racing in his brief career. Weld's other victory in the Melbourne Cup came courtesy of Media Puzzle in 2002.
Melbourne Cup winner Shocking is back and his trainer Mark Kavanagh also has crowd favourite Whobegotyou entered for the Cox Plate.
Leviathan owner Lloyd Williams has scoured the world to find his fourth Melbourne Cup winner. The big-spending owner has nominated 20 horses for the race including 2007 winner Efficient who has not contested the past two owing to injury.
Also featuring amongst Williams' entries are 2009 Irish St Leger winner Alandi, 2009 Irish Derby placegetter Mourayan, the untapped Linton and stable evergreen Zipping who has been nominated for a fourth Cox Plate after running a place the past two years.
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