FORMER Warrnambool College student Daniel Moor lives out a childhood dream with his first ride in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday.
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Moor, who has successfully ridden overseas, takes the mount on Miami Bound for Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Danny O'Brien.
Koroit-based jockey Declan Bates rides the French-bred stallion Ashrun in the $8 million race that stops a nation.
Moor told The Standard he's grateful to O'Brien and the owners of Miami Bound for giving him the ride in the Melbourne Cup.
"It's every jockeys dream to get a ride in the Cup," the 36-year-old father of two said.
"I've got my chance on Tuesday. Danny has been a great supporter of mine. He had a few horses aimed at the Cup and said a few weeks ago I was in the mix for a ride.
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"Danny and the owners have given me a wonderful opportunity.
"It'll be really different riding in the Cup without any patrons on-course but I know they will all be watching the race on the television."
Moor has followed in the footsteps of his father Brendan, who was an apprentice jockey to the late Warrnambool trainer Jocka Baillie.
"I've had a lot of support from people during my career," he said.
"My wife Lauren has been a great backstop plus our two children and I can't forget my parents Brendan and Leanne. I can still remember hanging around Jocka's stable as a young kid.
"I never liked school I was always messing around with horses.
"I was 14-year's-old mucking out boxes in Peter Lafferty's stables before being apprenticed to Robert Blacker.
"Former local jockeys Bill Nolan and Trevor Murphy have offered plenty of wise words during my career. "I just hope I can repay the faith on Tuesday."
Moor has over 800 career wins and collected $20,518,600 in prizemoney. He is yet to secure a victory in a group one race.
Bates, who moved to Warrnambool in 2015, also had his first ride in the Caulfield Cup on True Self last month.
The 32-year-old, who has 255 wins including one group one, would end up leading the Willie Mullins-trained Irish galloper to 13th in the prestigious Spring Carnival race.
Bookmakers rate Miami Bound a $34 chance in the early betting markets for the Cup while Ashrun is a $31 hope.
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