Racing Odds: Veteran Horses Line Up For Melbourne Cup
October 9th, 2014 by Pom de TurfMaybe it’s a bit of a cliché to say that some horses are like fine wine or great cheese – with age, they simply get better. But a look down the list of horses making their presence felt in the Racing odds for the 2014 Melbourne Cup will give you more than a little hint that there’s some truth in a platitude like that. Certainly, the veterans are out in force for this year’s Race That Stops A Nation, not least crowd favourite Red Cadeaux, who will be setting a record as an overseas runner in his fourth Melbourne Cup.
They likely won’t all get in to the final line-up, but the numbers are really quite something at the time we’re writing this article. There are an incredible four 9-year-olds in the mix for this year’s race: those really are some tough horses who’ve seen it all and more. Add in another nine horses who are either seven or eight years old and you can see how the average age in this year’s Melbourne Cup is going to be higher than usual. In fact, we’ve seen claims that you have to go back to 1871 (that’s right, 1871!) to find a Melbourne Cup field with more life experience than the one that could line up this November 4th. History could well be against the veterans, of course, and in more ways than you might think: past experience tells us that 7-year-olds can win the Melbourne Cup (and have – Makybe Diva in 2005), but that 8-year-olds usually don’t, and 9-year-olds probably can’t. But if there’s one horse who will be looking to come to Australia in 2014 and overturn all sorts of heart-breaking history in the Melbourne Cup, it’s Red Cadeaux, and it might just be our hearts talking, but we could easily find ourselves rooting for the brave veteran stayer come Cup day…
We’ve got all the Racing odds for the veterans – and for the upstart youngsters, too – for this year’s Melbourne Cup waiting for you at the end of that link there. Why not have a little look for yourself and see if you’re tempted to wager on age over beauty?
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