Bjorn Baker with Melbourne Cup contender Nom Du Jeu. Photo / Sarah Ivey
MIKE DILLON'S TOP FOUR
1. Mad Rush
2. Profound Beauty
3. Nom Du Jeu
4. Alessandro Volta
Best roughie: Honolulu
The Aussies yesterday asked Murray Baker if he would join their team to help repel the European invasion for today's A$5.5 million Melbourne Cup.
"You're kidding," was the answer.
The Australians know the Baker-trained Nom Du Jeu has the best chance of denying Cup victory to the the
eight European entrants.
But Baker, from Cambridge, is a staunch New Zealander.
"I've got too many New Zealand mates who wouldn't talk to me if I joined the Aussie team," he said.
And besides, Baker has some good Pommy mates from his days in county cricket - he was a very good cricketer until fast racehorses took his fancy.
In the Caulfield Cup, Nom Du Jeu drew an outside gate and was near last on the home bend, but flew home second behind Dubai-owned All The Good.
Baker also has some nightmare memories of four previous Melbourne Cup attempts.
"The Phantom should have won the Cup for us in 1989.
"Two apprentices had falls in the race and The Phantom got dragged back to near last."
The Phantom returned a year later, and finished second to Kingston Rule.
In the 2002 Cup race, Nom Du Jeu's dam, Prized Gem, broke down on a rock hard surface during the race and didn't race again.
Prized Gem was better on rain-affected tracks and, although Nom Du Jeu can manage a wet track it won't be necessary.
It's now a policy in Victoria that tracks must be irrigated to produce an officially rated dead rating on race morning. Baker doesn't want to see a track like the one they raced on in 2002 and he should be fairly safe unless Melbourne produces the strong wind that dried Saturday's track out to nearly "hard" for the day's last three races.
The only Australian connection Nom Du Jeu will carry into today's race is that his owner, Billie Morton, is a Queenslander.
Baker's son, Bjorn, this year gave up a pharmacy business in Ireland to train racehorses with his father.
Nom Du Jeu welcomed him home with a win in the AJC Derby in Sydney, and if the horse can get home this afternoon it'll be a career start beyond anyone's wildest dreams.
* The numbers
The Melbourne Cup has been run on the first Tuesday in November since 1875.
Saddlecloth numbers one, four and 12 have the best records, each draping 11 winners.
No horse has won the race from gate 18. Gate 11 has the best strike rate, with seven winners.
New Zealand-bred horses have won 28 of the past 50 Melbourne Cup races.
Makybe Diva is the only horse to have won three Melbourne Cups.
