Big Orange ready for second Emirates Melbourne Cup
Thursday 22 September 2016 19:39, UK
Big Orange is on target for a second run in the Emirates Melbourne Cup which takes place at Flemington in Melbourne on Tuesday November 1st.
The five-year-old is set to go into quarantine next Thursday (September 29th) prior to flying out to Melbourne a fortnight later for the 'Race That Stops The Nation' which is worth Aus$6.2 million (£3,069,307).
Trainer Michael Bell has been happy with his stable star who was last seen winning the Goodwood Cup at the end of July.
"I am very happy with Big Orange's wellbeing and we are now gearing up his preparations for the Emirates Melbourne Cup," he said.
"He has not run since July because he was being readied for the Irish St Leger until we decided to give that race a swerve owing to soft ground.
"I am very happy with the weight that he has been allocated as I think that he has improved since 2015.
"Last year was a very good reconnaissance trip - he ran an outstanding race and I'm really looking forward to taking him out there again. We learned that he handled the travelling well and he also handled the race day well, which can be quite an ordeal as the runners have to stand in the paddock for an hour and a half with 100,000 people looking on.
"It's very exciting but there are still 40 days to go and we have to keep him in one piece, so there are still many bridges to cross."
"Representing Britain in a race like this is an honour - it really feels as if you are flying the flag for the whole nation."
The Duke Of Marmalade gelding has already made the 21,000 mile round trip to Australia once, finishing fifth in the 2015 renewal of the Melbourne Cup, beaten by just two and half lengths having tried to make all the running.
When the weights were announced last week, Big Orange was allotted 56kg or 8st 11lb, just 1lb more than when he ran in the race last year.
Big Orange is a 16/1 chance with Sky Bet behind 14/1 joint-favourites Bondi Beach and Hartnell.
