- Michelle Payne is an analyst, trainer and Cup-winning jockey
- Hall of Fame jockey Glenn Boss has won the Cup three times
Racing greats Michelle Payne and Glenn Boss both agree on which horse has the potential to blow the rest of the field away in this year’s Melbourne Cup.
Everyone seems to turn into a racing expert come Melbourne Cup day, but picking a winner in the nation’s most famous race is a lottery for most Australians.
Fortunately, experts Michelle Payne and Glenn Boss have delivered their insights on who to back – and both agree on one name. Vauban.
Vauban was sent out as favourite last year but finished in the back half of the field, but the Irish stayer has been in tremendous form since.
‘If the best version of Vauban turns up, he might just blow away this Melbourne Cup field,’ Boss wrote in a News Corp column.
‘What’s clear going into this Cup is how strong the form of the internationals has been.
‘Just look at the way Onesmoothoperator and Sea King toyed with their rivals in the Geelong and Bendigo Cups over the past couple of weeks.
‘While they are both clearly exciting stayers on the rise, Vauban’s form back home was miles better than them – and it’s come in some of the best staying races in that part of the world.
Michelle Payne (pictured) and Glenn Boss both agree that Vauban has the potential to blow the rest of the field away
Glenn Boss says Vauban’s form has been great leading up to the great race
‘His trainer Willie Mullins is one of the best.
‘He’s admitted he got things wrong with Vauban’s preparation last year, so I’m willing to totally forgive the run.’
Payne, who’s the only female jockey to win the great race, also has Vauban as a strong favourite.
‘I think the barrier draw is really ideal for him. He can land into a position from mid-field you would think and he is definitely one of the horses to beat,’ Payne wrote in a column for Wide World of Sports.
‘They have changed around their training from last year, obviously he was all the hype and they think that didn’t work. They still believe they have a horse that can win the race and I think he’s definitely a top-four hope in this year’s Cup.’
Both Payne and Boss also fancy the chances of Buckaroo, despite him drawing a tough barrier for the race that stops a nation.
Payne says the Irish stayer will be hard to beat on Tuesday
Vauban was a favourite last year but finished in the back half of the field
‘Buckaroo is by far the best of the locals. He seriously pushed the Ladbrokes Cox Plate winner (Via Sistina) two starts back at Flemington in the Turnbull and then his Caulfield Cup run was excellent,’ Boss said.
‘The big question is will he run the 3200m? Yes, he hit the well over 2400m at Caulfield, but I’ve still got some doubts about the extra 800m.’
Payne agrees with Boss, but thinks the barrier issue might make things tricky for Buckaroo.
‘The barrier says it all. He was excellent in the Caulfield Cup, he couldn’t have been any better and only got shuffled back in the field through no fault of his own, it was just the way the race panned out,’ she said.
‘It was an excellent performance there and he’s a horse with a great turn of foot and really strong through the line.
‘He’s obviously going to be very hard to beat, but it might be dependent on where Joao Moreira can slot him from that barrier and who knows, it could just be the luck of the draw with him.’
