MELBOURNE - Nine Northern Hemisphere-trained horses remained in the Melbourne Cup when second declarations closed yesterday for Australia's most famous horse race.
Of the nine at least five are expected to start. Lightning Arrow, the third of five horses from the powerful United Arab Emirates-based Godolphin stable, was scheduled to arrive in Melbourne last night and join stablemates All The Way and Evil Empire who have been in quarantine for the past two weeks.
Other Godolphin hopefuls Timahs and Mukhalif are yet to arrive but are still in the cup, while French galloper Mont Rocher arrived last week.
Cup favourites Far Cry and Arctic Owl are scheduled to land in Melbourne next Tuesday. They could be accompanied on the flight by the Aga Khan-owned Enzeli.
Greg Nichols, racing general manager for Racing Victoria, said Enzeli's trainer John Oxx had made tentative flight arrangements.
Enzeli, who won the 1999 Ascot Gold Cup (4000m) in England, has started four times this year. Two starts ago he won the Doncaster Cup (3621m) in England on September 7.
A total of 85 horses remain in the Melbourne Cup for which Tie The Knot is now topweight with 58kg.
Forty-three horses remain in the Caulfield Cup, eight more than at the same stage last year, after third declarations yesterday. All The Way is topweight and weights will have to be raised 1kg to the minimum topweight of 56.5kg.
Racing: Northerners remain in running for Cups
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