The Melbourne Cup is the race that stops the nation and it’s finally here for 2025.
But when is it? Who are the runners? Where can I download a Melbourne Cup sweep? Who will win the Melbourne Cup?
All your questions are answered in our ultimate guide to the Melbourne Cup.
WHEN IS THE MELBOURNE CUP? WHAT TIME DOES THE MELBOURNE CUP START?
The 2025 Melbourne Cup will be run on Tuesday, November 4 at Flemington. The race jumps at 3pm AEDT. Start times across Australia:
Victoria, NSW, Tasmania (AEDT): 3pm
South Australia (ACDT): 2.30pm
Queensland (AEST): 2pm
Northern Territory (ACST): 1.30pm
Western Australia (AWST): 12pm
HOW TO WATCH THE MELBOURNE CUP?
The Melbourne Cup will be broadcast on Channel 9 and streamed on 9 Now.
WHO WILL WIN THE MELBOURNE CUP?
The final field of 24 runners will be declared by the Victoria Racing Club on Saturday afternoon. Top fancies ahead of Saturday night’s barrier draw include Half Yours, Valiant King, Al Riffa and Buckaroo.
HOW CAN I DOWNLOAD MY MELBOURNE CUP SWEEP?
CODE Sports will publish a downloadable Melbourne Cup sweep after the barrier draw on Saturday night.
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MELBOURNE CUP FORM GUIDE: LIKELY RUNNERS AND THEIR CHANCES RATED
AL RIFFA (FRANCE) $6
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien
Jockey: Mark Zahra
Weight: 59kg.
High-class international stayer who comes to Australia with proven Irish formlines with wins in the Curragh Cup and St Leger. Has the right Melbourne Cup jockey aboard but the 59kg is the big query. No horse has carried more than 58.5kg to victory in metric times. Kingston Town couldn’t win with 59kg – can Al Riffa? Trainer Joseph O’Brien has won the Melbourne Cup twice.
BUCKAROO (GREAT BRITAIN) $8
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: Craig Williams
Weight: 57kg.
Has become a genuine top-drawer performer in the past couple of seasons with a Group 1 win and second-placings in last year’s Caulfield Cup and last Saturday’s Cox Plate. Had no luck when ninth in last year’s Cup but carried 2.5kg less than this year. Rider Craig Williams won the 2019 Cup on Vow And Declare and trainer Chris Waller won with Verry Elleegant in 2021.
ARAPAHO (FRANCE) $51
Trainer: Bjorn Baker
Jockey: Rachel King
Weight: 56.5kg.
Has a reputation as a wet-tracker but Arapaho is a dual Group-1 winner in Sydney on good tracks. His autumn carnival was terrific, culminating in his Sydney Cup win in record time, running out a strong 3200m. Comes out of a Bendigo Cup run and he’s one that will see out the trip. It will just be a matter of whether he’s good enough with 56.5kg.
VAUBAN (FRANCE) $34
Trainers: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott
Jockey: Blake Shinn
Weight: 56.5kg.
Vauban has burned punters in the past two Melbourne Cups, failing to threaten when highly touted and well in the betting. However, those runs were as a fly-in, fly-out operator for Irish trainer Willie Mullins. Vauban has spent the entire year since his 11th to Knight’s Choice in Australia so he’ll be more acclimatised in the care of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. Didn’t enjoy Caulfield but could relish returning to Flemington. Shinn won the 2008 Cup aboard Viewed.
CHEVALIER ROSE (JAPAN) $34
Trainer: Hisashi Shimizu
Jockey: Damian Lane
Weight: 55.5kg.
Japanese eight-year-old making his Australian debut in the Melbourne Cup but his trainer Hisashi Shimizu has already claimed a Caulfield Cup with Mer De Glace in 2019 before the galloper was a touch unlucky in that year’s Melbourne Cup. Japanese stayers are among the world’s best, but this bloke has failed to get within 10 lengths of the winner in his past three starts. Hard to line up.
PRESAGE NOCTURNE (IRELAND) $9
Trainer: Alessandro Botti
Jockey: Stephane Pasquier
Weight: 55.5kg.
French-trained stayer who made a terrific Australian debut when beaten less than two lengths in the Caulfield Cup, which was his first run for six weeks. He’ll be much fitter for that and has won twice over 3000m. He was narrowly beaten in the Group 2 Prix Kergorlay at Deauville, which was a crucial form race for previous Melbourne Cup winners Americain and Protectionist. Will thrive if the forecast rain arrives.
MIDDLE EARTH (GREAT BRITAIN) $34
Trainer: Ciaron Maher
Jockey: Ethan Brown
Weight: 54.5kg.
The import was a Group-3 winner in England and won up to 2816m before arriving in Australia to join the Maher stable. But the Melbourne Cup will be the first time he has raced beyond 2400m in Australia. He won at his Australian debut at Flemington in March but has been unplaced since. Maher was disappointed with his Caulfield Cup run though Middle Earth wasn’t far away with blinkers on at The Valley last start. A real query runner.
MEYDAAN (IRELAND) $11
Trainers: Simon & Ed Crisford
Jockey: James McDonald
Weight: 54kg.
Will be popular with punters after the booking of superstar jockey James McDonald, who won the 2021 Melbourne Cup on Verry Elleegant. Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, who trained Without A Fight for his first Melbourne Cup bid, Meydaan closed steadily at the end of the Caulfield Cup and should improve. Has a definite liking for firm ground so the weather forecast could be an issue.
LAND LEGEND (FRANCE) $101
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: TBC
Weight: 53.5kg.
Land Legend ran third in last year’s Caulfield Cup and a respectable eighth, beaten 3-1/4 lengths, in the Melbourne Cup. However, his form in his past two races hasn’t been of Melbourne Cup standard. He finished last in the Turnbull Stakes and was beaten almost 19 lengths when last again in the Caulfield Cup. Trainer Chris Waller would be a genius if he gets this bloke to fire – with several gear changes – in the Melbourne Cup.
SMOKIN’ ROMANS (NEW ZEALAND) $101
Trainer: Ciaron Maher
Jockey: Ben Melham
Weight: 53.5kg.
Smokin’ Romans raced in the 2022 Melbourne Cup and placed seventh behind his Ciaron Maher-trained stablemate Gold Trip at his only 3200m run. That effort was three starts after his surprise Group 1 Turnbull Stakes win. He won the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes last year and the Warrnambool Cup in May, but no nine-year-old has won a Melbourne Cup.
ABSURDE (FRANCE) $18
Trainer: Willie Mullins
Jockey: Kerrin McEvoy
Weight: 53.5kg.
Trainer Willie Mullins has sent Absurde back to Australia for a third crack at the Melbourne Cup after finishing seventh and an unlucky fifth respectively in the last two runnings of the race. Mullins has changed his approach this year, giving Absurde a lead-up run in the Caulfield Cup in which he finished a sound seventh. The booking of three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy is an asset. Third time lucky?
FLATTEN THE CURVE (FRANCE) $26
Trainer: Henk Grewe
Jockey: Thore-Hammer Hansen
Weight: 53.5kg.
The German-trained stayer has been a revelation in the past 12 months with four wins in Germany and another win and a third in the USA. He got the money over 3200m twice, albeit in slow times, before scoring on the dirt at Kentucky Downs in August. With the catchily-named Thore Hammer-Hansen aboard, Flatten The Curve could be a surprise packet, especially if the rain arrives.
HALF YOURS $6
Trainers: Tony & Calvin McEvoy
Jockey: Jamie Melham
Weight: 53kg.
Has emerged as one of Australia’s top stayers during an amazing 2025, building on the ability he showed for the Ciaron Maher stable. He is now with Tony and Calvin McEvoy. He ran on well in the Turnbull Stakes before going on with it in the Caulfield Cup. Rain wouldn’t worry him and he’s a great chance to give Jamie Melham her first Melbourne Cup triumph.
ONESMOOTHOPERATOR (USA) $15
Trainer: Brian Ellison
Jockey: Harry Coffey
Weight: 53kg.
Easily won the Geelong Cup soon after arriving last year before finishing midfield in the Melbourne Cup. He landed in similar form in 2025, claiming the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup to cement his Melbourne Cup place. Strangely, those wins are his only victories on grass tracks as his best form is on synthetic surfaces in England. Soft ground would be a worry for him.
MORE FELONS (IRELAND) $51
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: Tommy Berry
Weight: 53kg.
He finished 12th in the 2023 Melbourne Cup at his second outing in Australia for the Chris Waller stable before winning his next start in February last year. He hasn’t won a race since, but was narrowly beaten in last year’s Tancred Stakes. He ran on well after drawing poorly in the Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap and wasn’t disgraced in the ATC St Leger. The Melbourne Cup will be harder but he’s racing honestly.
CHANGINGOFTHEGUARD (IRELAND) $81
Trainer: Kris Lees
Jockey: Tim Clark
Weight: 53kg.
Owned by seven-times Melbourne Cup winner Lloyd Williams, Changingoftheguard made a delayed start to racing in Australia, spending 14 months off the scene when he arrived. He showed something in his first two runs this time in, winning at Randwick second-up, before nearly falling in a forgivable Metropolitan Handicap disaster. He was one-paced carrying 60kg in the Geelong Cup but drops 7kg in the Melbourne Cup.
PARCHMENT PARTY (USA) $51
Trainer: William Mott
Jockey: John Velazquez
Weight: 52kg.
A rare US-trained runner, Parchment Party’s form is extremely difficult to line up against his rivals. His home form was basic until trainer William Mott stepped him out beyond 2400m where Parchment Party has thrived, winning his past two starts. But those wins were on the Saratoga dirt track. Who knows?
FURTHUR (IRELAND) $26
Trainer: Andrew Balding
Jockey: Michael Dee
Weight: 52kg.
Furthur is the least experienced of the Melbourne Cup runners with only eight starts under his belt. But Cross Counter had only seven starts before his 2018 triumph so that’s not necessarily an issue. The English galloper won a Group 3 race over 2711m before a steady effort behind the world-class Scandinavia in the English St Leger. He has never raced in a big field like a Melbourne Cup, but drops 6.5kg on his last run.
RIVER OF STARS (IRELAND) $18
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: Beau Mertens
Weight: 51.5kg.
Showed Group-1 ability in Europe, running a strong second over 2800m in France before joining the Waller stable. She’s yet to win in Australia but her form is solid, running third in the Sydney Cup and improving off two fitness-building runs to run second in the Caulfield Cup. She’s a chance to give Waller a second Melbourne Cup triumph.
GOODIE TWO SHOES (IRELAND) $34
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien
Jockey: Wayne Lordan
Weight: 51.5kg.
The lightly-raced seven-year-old is a query runner. She’s trained by dual Melbourne Cup winner Joseph O’Brien, who took a successful punt with Rekindling, who also carried 51.5kg to his win, in 2017. She’s a smart hurdler who has won three of her past four on the flat. Respect her.
ATHABASCAN (FRANCE) $81
Trainers: John O’Shea & Tom Charlton
Jockey: Declan Bates
Weight: 51.5kg.
Doesn’t win often but he can pull out a decent run here and there as he did in when he improved dramatically for second in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup. He has two respectable efforts, a second and a fifth, over 3200m in the Sydney Cup to his name. But he just doesn’t get enough weight relief against some of the better chances.
GOLDEN SNAP (JAPAN) $201
Trainer: Katsunori Tanaka
Jockey: TBC
Weight: 51.5kg.
Japanese mare with a mind of her own who didn’t fire from the outside gate in the Caulfield Cup. Her form improves when getting up in trip as shown when a strong fourth to Chevalier Rose at Group 2 level over 3600m last spring. She’ll run the trip but it’s a matter of whether she can make the required improvement.
TORRANZINO (NEW ZEALAND) $34
Trainer: Paul Preusker
Jockey: Celine Gaudray
Weight: 51kg.
Secured a Melbourne Cup berth by earning a Golden Ticket in the Geelong Cup but his solid second in the Bart Cummings was just as good. Interestingly, the handicapper wasn’t impressed enough with his Geelong Cup win to give him a weight penalty. His trainer Paul Preusker went close with Surprise Baby in 2019 and this bloke is racing at his best at the right time.
VALIANT KING (GREAT BRITAIN) $7
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockey: Jye McNeil
Weight: 51kg.
Finished midfield with 51kg in last year’s Melbourne Cup and has the same weight despite his impressive win in the Bart Cummings. Showed that was no fluke with his unlucky third in the Caulfield Cup, again proving he’s a different horse since Chris Waller applied the blinkers. Jockey Jye McNeil won the 2020 Cup on Twilight Payment.
