Racing: Early odds hint at Godolphin cup plans

By MIKE DILLON

Godolphin won't confirm it, but Give The Slip and San Sebastian look likely to represent the world's leading stable in this year's $4 million Melbourne Cup.

Melbourne bookmakers are so confident that this will be the scenario that they list Give The Slip on the fourth line of Cup favouritism.

Give The Slip has lately been used as legal pacemaker for his talented stablemate, Fantastic Light, as permitted under English racing rules.

But he is far better than that.

With a Timeform rating of 122, he has the type of class needed to win a Melbourne Cup.

Peter Coster's Double Bet is the first of Australia's big betting agencies to produce a Caulfield/Melbourne Cups chart and a Cox Plate/Melbourne Cup double.

Under Victoria's racing regulations, bookmakers are required to refund all bets on horses not nominated when entries are taken on August 1.

Racing Victoria's racing manager, Greg Nichols, is on his second trip to the Northern Hemisphere to attract horses to the spring carnival.

The Melbourne Cup is one of the six races that Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin stable has identified it wants to win in the next year.

The cup and the Kentucky Derby are the two targets it has yet to achieve.

Last week San Sebastian finished fourth to Royal Rebel in the Ascot Gold Cup, form which has stacked up well in Melbourne.

Royal Rebel was pulled out of the Melbourne Cup at the last minute last year, and is nominated again.

"There is every indication he could be a runner this time," said Nichols.

Double Bet has Cambridge staying star Kaapstad Way equal Melbourne Cup favourite with AJC Derby winner Universal Prince. The second line is Big Pat and Adelaide Cup winner Native Jazz.

Last year's winner, Brew, shares the third line with Inaflury, Northerly, Rose Archway and Sale Of The Century.

Sunline causes no surprises in being 3-1 Cox Plate favourite, well ahead of Northerly at 6-1 and Viscount at 10-1.

Queensland Derby winner De Gaulle Lane shares the 14-1 fourth Cox Plate line with outstanding international stars Fantastic Light and Jim And Tonic.

Last week's Ascot winner for Godolphin, Fantastic Light, is an unlikely traveller to Melbourne.

And Nichols still hopes to attract Jim And Tonic.

However, French trainer Francoise Doumen said after the horse's magical Dubai win in March that he would not be in Australia in the spring.

"We bred this horse and he holds a special place in our hearts," said Doumen.

"We want to look after him, which is probably why we won't be looking at going to Australia."

The Mike Moroney-trained Maythehorsebewithu has attracted the biggest bets on the cups so far.

Double Bet has written a double of close to a million dollars with De Gaulle Lane in the Caulfield Cup and Maythehorsebewithu in the Melbourne Cup.

The money is believed to be closely connected to the stable.

De Gaulle Lane is the 12-1 Caulfield Cup early favourite, ahead of Kaapstad Way at 14-1.