The 2019 Investec Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck and his stablemates Armory, last year’s Seppelt Mackinnon Stakes winner Magic Wand and 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner Santiago are the Aidan O’Brien-trained first acceptances for the Caulfield highlight next month.

Last year’s Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) fourth placer Master Of Reality, is one of four first acceptors from the Joseph O’Brien stable, along with Buckhurst, Pondus and Twilight Payment.

The 2019 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2600m) winner True Self stands her place in the Caulfield Cup first acceptances for Ireland’s National Hunt champion trainer, Willie Mullins, but stable companion Stratum will bypass the Caulfield Cup and instead head straight to the Melbourne Cup.

There are 12 internationally-trained horses at the first acceptance stage, as the international presence has seen an increase on the past three years, with 10 raiders amongst the first acceptances in both 2019 and 2018, and seven in 2017.

The overall number of first acceptors for the 2020 Caulfield Cup, which takes place at Caulfield on Saturday, 17 October, has also risen on the figures in past years with 74 (2019), 83 (2018) and 70 (2017) having previously stood their ground.

Of the Australian-trained horses, Orderofthegarter, formerly handled by Aidan O’Brien at Ballydoyle, retains his place in the acceptance list having won his way into the AUD $5.15m showpiece courtesy of his victory in last Saturday’s Catanach’s Jewellers MRC Foundation Cup (2000m). The seven-year-old, who will be ridden in the Caulfield Cup by rising star Jye McNeil, will aim to give his trainer Danny O’Brien a second win in the race while his high-profile stablemates Russian Camelot and reigning Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) winner Vow And Declare are also amongst the first acceptances.

Mirage Dancer, who finished third for the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young training partnership in 2019, will be aiming to go two better this time around whilst Chris Waller’s seven-strong team of first acceptors includes multiple Group 1-winning mare Verry Elleegant.

Second acceptances for the Caulfield Cup will close on Tuesday, 6 October 2020.

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The imported stayer confirmed his spot in the Caulfield Cup field when winning the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes on Saturday for jockey Damien Oliver.

The former Aidan O’Brien-trained colt has been handed a 1kg penalty for both the Group 1 Caulfield Cup and Group 1 Melbourne Cup after his impressive Group 3 success, with the Danny O’Brien-trained son of Galileo now set to carry 51kgs in both feature races.

“It was encouraging to see Orderofthegarter record his third career win in the Naturalism Stakes and his first since winning a Listed race for 3-year-olds in April 2017,” Racing Victoria Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter said.

“The merit of the victory on Saturday warranted a 1kg penalty for both Cups as he seeks to emulate Jameka who won the Caulfield Cup after winning the Naturalism Stakes in 2016″, Carpenter added.

Top Australian rider Damien Oliver is unable to ride below 53.5kg and with Orderofthegarter handicapped on 51kg, connections opted for McNeil as their lightweight rider.

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The three highest weighted horses in the 143rd Caulfield Cup, to be run at Caulfield on Saturday, 17 October, are O’Brien’s star-studded Group 1-winning trio of Anthony Van Dyck (58.5kg), Japan (58.5kg) and Magical (58kg).

With the latter two only nominated for the Caulfield Cup, 2019 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck is the sole topweight for the 160th Melbourne Cup, to be run at Flemington on Tuesday, 3 November, with 58.5kg.

O’Brien’s 2019 Irish Derby winner Sovereign is among a trio of horses allotted 57kg in both races, making them the equal second highest weighted horses in the Melbourne Cup. The other two are defending Melbourne Cup champion Vow And Declare (Danny O’Brien) and Godolphin’s three-time Group 1 winner Avilius (James Cummings).

Russian Camelot (Danny O’Brien), the pre-weights Caulfield Cup favourite, has been allotted 53.5kg making him the highest weighted Northern Hemisphere three-year-old in both races alongside Aidan O’Brien’s 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner Santiago.

Surprise Baby (Paul Preusker), the pre-weights Melbourne Cup favourite, has been handed 54.5kg in both races – 1kg more than the 2019 Adelaide Cup and The Bart Cummings winner carried into fifth place in last year’s Melbourne Cup.

Of the other horses highly fancied in pre-post betting for both Cups, Chris Waller’s four-time Group 1 winning mare Verry Elleegant has been allocated 55kg in each, while Team Hawkes’ revelation of the 2019-20 season, Master of Wine, has been weighted on 53.5kg.

Like her stablemates Japan and Magical, Aidan O’Brien’s globetrotting mare Magic Wand is nominated for the Caulfield Cup only. The 2019 Mackinnon Stakes winner has been handicapped on 55kg – 1.5kg more than she carried when 10th in the 2019 Melbourne Cup.

Speaking at the release of weights this morning Racing Victoria’s (RV) Executive General Manager – Racing, Greg Carpenter said:

“Aidan’s O’Brien’s entries are the standouts on performances over the past 18 months and have been handicapped accordingly at the top of the weights for this year’s Stella Artois Caulfield Cup and Lexus Melbourne Cup.

“The joint Caulfield Cup topweights Anthony Van Dyck and Japan were both Group 1 winners over 2400m in 2019 and have been placed behind the world’s highest rated horse Ghaiyyath this year. Anthony Van Dyck holds the honour of sole topweight in the Melbourne Cup with Japan not nominated.”

Continuing his explanation of weight allocations, Carpenter said:

“The outstanding Magical, who is a six-time Group 1 winner and nominated for the Caulfield Cup only, has 58kg and will need to set a weight carrying record for a mare with Tranquil Star claiming that mark when winning the 1942 Caulfield Cup with 56kg.

“There’s a challenge been set for talented local mare Verry Elleegant also, who has 55kg in both Cups. Makybe Diva is the only mare to carry more than 55kg to victory in the Melbourne Cup having done so in 2004 (55.5kg) and 2005 (58kg), the latter being the last time a mare has placed in our most famous race.

“There is always great interest in what weight is given to the defending Melbourne Cup champion and this year that is Vow And Declare who rises to 57kg having won the race with 52kg last year for Australia with Craig Williams in the saddle for Danny O’Brien.

“The 5kg increase for Vow And Declare represents a 1.5kg increase in his weight-for-age benchmark moving to five years of age and a 3.5kg penalty for his 2019 win. That’s the same penalty that was afforded to Cross Counter, Prince of Penzance, Green Moon, Dunaden and Americain for their title defences over the past decade.

The weights allocated to other notable entries are as follows:

Dual Melbourne Cup placed horse, English stayer Prince Of Arran (Charlie Fellowes), has been allocated 54.5kg – 0.5kg more than he carried when promoted to second in the 2019 edition and 1.5kg more than his third placing in 2018.

Master of Reality, who was second across the line in the 2019 Melbourne Cup before being demoted to fourth on protest, rises 0.5kg this year to 56kg – the same weight the Joseph O’Brien trained stayer has in the Caulfield Cup.

In addition to Master of Reality, Australian owner Lloyd Williams has the Joseph O’Brien-trained pair Twilight Payment (55.5kg), Buckhurst (55kg) as well as Adelaide Cup winner King of Leogrance (53.5kg) prominent in the weights in his pursuit of a seventh Melbourne Cup and second Caulfield Cup.

The Willie Mullins-trained duo of recent Lonsdale Cup runner-up Stratum and last year’s VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner True Self have been handicapped on 55kg and 52kg respectively.

Germany’s sole entrant Ashrun has been assigned 53kg in both races for the 2014 Melbourne Cup-winning combination of trainer Andreas Wohler and syndicators Australian Bloodstock.

Northern Hemisphere three-year-olds have won two of the last three Melbourne Cups. Young French stayer Port Guillaume (Jean-Claude Rouget), touted as a key contender should he make the trip, has been weighted on 52.5kg.

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The O’Briens alone account for 16 of the 30 internationally trained entrants for the 160^th Lexus Melbourne Cup, with 25 Group 1 winners among the entries for the AUD $8 million race.

Joseph O’Brien, who became the youngest person ever to train the winner of “the race that stops a nation” when triumphing with Rekindling in 2017, has entered seven horses, five of which are owned by top Australian owner Lloyd Williams.

The Carriganóg handler’s full list of nominations is Bolleville, Buckhurst, Degraves, Master Of Reality (second past the post last year only to be demoted to fourth following an objection), Patrick Sarsfield, Pondus, and Twilight Payment.

Numerically Aidan O’Brien accounts for most of the overseas entries, with 9 nominations. They include 2019 Investec Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck as well as the 2019 and 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby victors Sovereign and Santiago. The Ballydoyle handler’s team is completed by Cormorant, Dawn Patrol, Mythical, Nobel Prize, Order Of Australia and Tiger Moth.

Ireland’s champion National Hunt trainer Willie Mullins has entered both last year’s VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner True Self and Lonsdale Cup runner-up Stratum, while former jockey and now successful trainer David O’Meara has one nomination in Eagles By Day.

English trainer Andrew Balding’s Dashing Willoughby and Fabrice Chappet’s Australian-owned San Huberto are expected to contest both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup for the first time this year. They could be joined by horses recently acquired by Australian ownership groups: the former Ger Lyons-trained Nickajack Cave, now with Peter Moody, and former Ballydoyle inmates Sir Dragonet, now trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and Delphi, now handled by Anthony Freedman.

Australian trainer Danny O’Brien, winner of the 2019 Lexus Melbourne Cup with Vow And Declare, has entered last year’s victor as well as his leading Cup fancy Northern Hemisphere three-year-old Russian Camelot, winner of the South Australian Derby under Cork-born jockey Johnny Allen.

International stables have entered 34 horses for the 143^rd Caulfield Cup with 29 individual Group 1 winners among the 177 entries for the AUD $5.15 million Stella Artois-sponsored 2,400m race.

Aidan O’Brien has 13 entries in the Caulfield Cup including six-time Group 1 winner Magical, Japan, Magic Wand and 2019 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck. His tranche of nominations is completed by Armory, Dawn Patrol, Mogul, Mythical, Nobel Prize, Order Of Australia, Santiago, Sovereign and Tiger Moth.

Joseph O’Brien has the same seven horses entered for the Lexus Caulfield Cup as he has for the Lexus Melbourne Cup, namely Bolleville, Buckhurst, Degraves, Master Of Reality, Patrick Sarsfield, Pondus andTwilight Payment.

The Willie Mullins pair Stratum and True Self are nominated for the Caulfield feature, as is David O’Meara’s Eagles By Day.

Danny O’Brien leads the Australian charge with a number of high-profile horses including Vow And Declare, South Australian Derby winner Russian Camelot, along with Adelaide Cup winner King of Leogrance and VRC Oaks heroine Miami Bound.

The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained partnership have the most entries in both races with 19 in the Melbourne Cup and 16 in the Caulfield Cup, with Sydney Cup winner Etah James among those to feature in both, while eight of the top 10 placed horses in the 2019 Caulfield Cup have been entered for a tilt at the race again this year.

Weights for both races will be released on Tuesday, 8 September, with first acceptances for the Caulfield Cup on Tuesday, 22 September and the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, 29 September. Late entries for both races close on Thursday, 3 September.

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As a result of this decision, the 2020 Spring Racing Carnival will officially commence with the Group 1 Memsie Stakes meeting at Caulfield on Saturday, 29^th August and conclude with the Ballarat Cup meeting on Saturday, 21^st November.

All feature races conducted in the 2019 Spring Racing Carnival will be retained, including 21 Group 1 races and 26 country cups.

The Caulfield Cup Carnival will take place over three days with the Caulfield Guineas meeting on Saturday, 10^th October, the Blue Sapphire Stakes meeting on Wednesday, 14^th October and the Caulfield Cup meeting scheduled for Saturday, 17^th October.

The Cox Plate Carnival at The Valley will be run over 24 hours with the Manikato Stakes meeting on Friday night, 23^rd October and the Cox Plate on Saturday afternoon, 24^th October.

The Melbourne Cup will retain its iconic date on the first Tuesday in November, with the four-day Flemington Carnival to be held on Saturday, 31^st October (Derby Day), Tuesday, 3^rd  November (Cup Day), Thursday, 5^th November (Oaks Day) and Saturday, 7^th November (Stakes Day).

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