‘If I could have a bet, I would stick a bit on him’ – which jockey thinks his mount has the Melbourne Cup ‘X factor’?

Australia’s greatest race, the Melbourne Cup (4.00am Tuesday), is typically wide open – what do connections think of their chances?

Joseph O’Brien, trainer of Al Riffa and Goodie Two Shoes
Al Riffa has had a good preparation and is versatile when it comes to ground. He ran a great race on fast ground at Royal Ascot and then ran right up to form again on soft ground in the Irish St Leger. We always knew he would have top weight and we’re happy to accept that. It was always the plan to go straight in here with Goodie after Goodwood. She likes fast ground and has a good turn of foot. I think she’s a live outsider.

Charlie Duckworth, assistant to Chris Waller, trainer of Buckaroo, Land Legend, More Felons, River Of Stars and Valiant King
You can make a genuine case for all five of our runners. Valiant King is a beauty who will improve for two miles. He has appreciated running off a solid tempo and has shown he can absorb pressure. He will plough through the wet if we get all the rain. Two miles is still an unknown for Buckaroo because he covered so much extra ground in last year’s Cup. I think the best strategy is for him to be ridden to see out the trip. River Of Stars ran an enormous race at Caulfield and is a good wet tracker. She will love the trip and she has a nice draw and weight. Land Legend was only beaten three and a half lengths last year after overracing, but we’ve changed gear on him and he now settles better. His last start was a disaster as he covered so much extra ground for no benefit. We know he stays, and so does More Felons, although he has a tricky wide draw.

Gai Waterhouse, joint-trainer of Vauban
It sounds a bit funny to say a horse had angst but he was uptight. We’ve worked very hard to get that out of him but he’ll always be a funny old thing. He was on the wrong lead in the Caulfield Cup but I could easily see him put his best foot forward on Tuesday.

Vauban: having his third shot at Melbourne Cup gloryCredit: Vince Caligiuri

Alessandro Botti, trainer of Presage Nocturne
His run in the Caulfield Cup was very good and going over further on Tuesday will be better. The horse has improved and he has a perfect draw in nine. Soft ground would be okay but I wouldn’t know how he would be on very heavy ground. This has been a dream, and we’re here to take the Cup.

Ed Crisford, joint-trainer of Meydaan
He’s woken up since the Caulfield Cup and is like a different animal. The ground dried out a lot last time and he didn’t come down the hill before staying on well. I wouldn’t know how he would handle heavy ground, but I would be pleased if we get what we call soft or good to soft. He’ll definitely stay two miles and I think he’ll run a big race, but stall 22 is tough.

David Casey, assistant to Willie Mullins, trainer of Absurde
I was delighted with him at Caulfield and I think having had a run there will help him. His work at Werribee has been very good and he looks a lot better than this time last year. We haven’t had to clip him and his coat has been very good. Ideally, we would like to see drier ground than we’re expecting, but you would hope it might inconvenience the others more than him.

Absurde: the County Hurdle hero has run well in the last two Melbourne CupsCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Thore Hammer-Hansen, rider of Flatten The Curve
Soft ground would give us an edge over some of the others. I think he brings the X factor to the Melbourne Cup because you can’t really translate his form. I have great belief in him. If I could have a bet, I would stick a bit on him.

Tony McEvoy, joint-trainer of Half Yours
We’ve just been keeping him happy since Caulfield. The horse is telling us he’s at the peak of his powers. Nothing changes for him on soft ground but it does change for some other horses. He’ll stay the same, regardless of the conditions.

Brian Ellison, trainer of Onesmoothoperator
Unlike last year, there have been no dramas in his preparation. He’s in tremendous form. I’m not saying he’s going to win it but he can definitely finish in the top four. I wouldn’t want the ground to turn really soft,  and I wouldn’t want to see rain on the day, but I know I can’t have him in better form.

Onesmoothoperator: tackles the Melbourne Cup for Brian Ellison Credit: Vince Caligiuri (Getty Images)

Anna Lisa Balding, wife of Andrew Balding, trainer of Furthur
I think he needs to be in the right place in the race. He’s a big, strong horse, so we want him to be able to use his stride and get into a lovely rhythm, as opposed to being cramped up. That means stall seven is perfect. I hope the ground won’t be a problem.

Bill Mott, trainer of Parchment Party
We would really feel good about it if the race was run on the dirt. Although he’s worked very well on grass he’s never won a race on it. I think it’s all a matter of the surface and how he gets along with it.

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