Lloyd Williams' stranglehold on a sixth Melbourne Cup intensified as the leviathan owner pins his faith in the mastery of Frankie Dettori to deliver back-to-back wins in Australia's great race with favourite Almandin.
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Despite Almandin drifting from $6.50 to $7 with Sportsbet after Saturday night's barrier draw, Williams' son Nick declared barrier 14 "exactly" where they want to be.
Lloyd Williams' stranglehold on a sixth Melbourne Cup intensified as the leviathan owner pins his faith in the mastery of Frankie Dettori to deliver back-to-back wins in Australia's great race with favourite Almandin.
Despite Almandin drifting from $6.50 to $7 with Sportsbet after Saturday night's barrier draw, Williams' son Nick declared barrier 14 "exactly" where they want to be.
Williams qualified an equal best six runners for the race, matching his 2013 battalion, which couldn't deny Gai Waterhouse a famous triumph in 2013 with Fiorente.
And he has three of the top nine runners in betting for Tuesday's race, but the Macedon Lodge army left no one in any doubt Almandin is their No.1 seed.
"We've got the best jockey in the world [Dettori on Almandin] and he's got 800 metres to work out where he's going to be and he should be able to be in a similar spot to last year."
Dettori will dash from Sunday's Breeders Cup meeting at Del Mar in the United States to try to snap his Melbourne Cup curse at the 16th time of asking.
A record-equalling 11 overseas-trained horses have flocked to Melbourne to raid the $6 million race, which boasts just the Caulfield Cup quinella of Boom Time and Single Gaze as well as Amelie's Star as the only horses bred in Australia to have qualified.
But local flagbearers Williams and Darren Weir, who will saddle up third favourite Humidor ($9.50), will have a strong hand despite English stayer Marmelo ($9) moving up a rung in markets.
Weir fared favourably with Big Duke (five), Amelie's Star (10) and Cox Plate runner-up Humidor (13) all drawing comfortable alleys.
"I've got no complaints," Weir said. "Barriers weren't going to ruin their chances. It could have been better, we could have drawn one, two and three. They're all going to be around midfield and get their chance from those gates.
"It probably helps Humidor a bit because he can just follow something across and be exactly where we want him to be in the run."
The day was dogged by the drama surrounding Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman's Jon Snow, which was inspected early on Saturday morning.
Racing Victoria's head vet Dr Grace Forbes delayed an official call on Jon Snow's suitability to race, instead presenting a brief to the Victoria Racing Club committee. They opted to withdraw the Australian Derby winner from the race shortly after 2pm.
It gifted the nervous connections of Irish-based Thomas Hobson an 11th-hour spot in the field, ensuring Willie Mullins will have three runners in the race.
Bookmakers have rated Thomas Hobson the best of Mullins' trio, which also includes Max Dynamite and Wicklow Brave.
The Cup was the best example of the powerhouse training operations flexing their muscles, Australia's two biggest conditioners Weir and Chris Waller qualifying three and two runners respectively.
David Hayes, son Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig will also have multiple runners with Boom Time (barrier nine) and Ventura Storm (six) to launch from ideal gates.
"The barrier was terrific [for Boom Time]," Hayes said. "My jockey's happy with it and he will get his chance. And Ventura Storm's is even better and with any luck we might get another Cup."
Gai Waterhouse's Cismontane controversially secured the last spot in the race by winning the Lexus Stakes earlier on Saturday despite jockey Stephen Baster being heavily fined for flaunting the whip rules in the narrow win.
It means Waterhouse and training partner Adrian Bott will have a runner in the Cup for the second year running since officially joining forces at Tulloch Lodge.
