European trained racehorses took three of the four placings in last year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup but the all-important race victory went to our very own Vow And Declare trained by Danny O'Brien at Flemington Racecourse ridden by Craig Williams.

However, with visiting runners taking the top five places in 2018 and enjoying a 1-2-3 in 2017 (along with providing eight of the first ten home) it’s pretty clear the battle for global staying supremacy is being lost.

For those that don’t believe in fair play, Covid-19 did offer up the prospect of a limited number of visiting runners at the Spring Carnival but according to the big race entries released at the start of September the powerhouse European stables will be well represented in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

The International Raiders

A total of 34 internationally-trained horses have been nominated for the Caulfield Cup and there are 30 visiting runners amongst the Melbourne Cup betting lists.

The Irish training duo of Joseph O’Brien and his father Aidan are responsible for 16 of the entries in the stayers showpiece, amongst them is the six-time Group 1 winner Magical, Japan, Magic Wand (a Group 1 Flemington winner last year) and 2019 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck.

But before betting your hard earned money into any of these classy and stoutly bred horses do stop to consider what could yet go wrong. For now the Australian government has given stable staff responsible for visiting runners clearance to travel to Australia but they will be required to complete 14 days of quarantine at their point of arrival before being allowed to come to Victoria and tend to their horses.

Naturally there are very few flights arriving in the country and currently visitors cannot fly into Melbourne. Furthermore there are quotas on the amount of people who can come into the country at any one time meaning it could prove difficult for stables to find seats for their staff not alone the likes of international jockeys Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore.

Early Melbourne Cup Betting Outlook

So, if you want to place an early bet on this year’s Melbourne Cup, where the 2019 attendance of 81,400 will not be matched as it will be a ‘behind closed doors’ event, we recommend betting on a home-trained runner.

If you are unsure on how to place your Melbourne Cup bets, there are some very good online betting sites where you can get expert free bets for horse racing’s return to action as well as betting bonuses and free bet advice.

Surprise Baby fits the bill nicely. A fast finishing fifth in the contest last year, the gelding has run only once since when having an ideal return to action finishing second in a Group 2 at Moonee Valley at the start of September. With form in the book and with no travelling or quarantine concerns to contend with, he looks a fair Melbourne Cup bet to lift the trophy on the first Tuesday in November. Good luck!