It's the race that stops our nation - and tiny segments of many other nations as the internationals continue to raid our heavily girt-ed shores and plunder our unlimited riches. Someone needs to tell these foreigners the mining boom is over. A breeding buff tells me Fawkner and Unchain my Heart are the only locally bred horses in the race. Sheesh! Anyways, the horses don't know where they've come from (apart from Seismos - who is a fricken genius). Who wins this? Who digs deep for that long Flemington straight that seems to go on forever when your horse is in front. Who wants this most? So many questions, and hopefully I can answer at least one of them correctly.

Below are the runners for the 2014 edition:

1. Admire Rakti (jockey - Zac Purton; trainer - Tomoyuki Umeda)
   
   The Japanese raider couldn't have been more impressive in his first start in Australia - a wide run with a big weight and the jockey was actually quite kind to the horse over the concluding stages. He carries 58.5kg on Tuesday and recent history would suggest the impost is quite an impost. Since 1995 only four horses have carried more than 55kg and won and they were all pretty good - Saintly, Might and Power, Makybe Diva (twice) and Delta Blues (the only other Japanese winner). The weight is the only negative and nothing inspires confidence in an international runner like seeing them perform under Australian racing conditions. You can watch that impressive Caulfield Cup performance in the video below. Clearly the one to beat.
   
    
2. Cavalryman (jockey - Craig Williams; trainer - Saeed bin Suroor) - SCRATCHED
   
   Cavalryman went around in the Cup in 2012, took a gap year in Europe in 2013, and is back in 2014 for another go. His form this year is actually pretty freaking good - his last five runs have all been staying trips for three wins and a second. I tipped him to run a place in 2012 at some ridiculous price and he ran 12th - proving that the ridiculous price was much more accurate than I imagined. He's 8 years old now, which is Golden Girls old for horses, but he won't be the only 2014 runner with a valid Seniors Card. As a person who likes to make the same mistake more than once I think he could run a place at about 50-1. I have been wrong before, but that was way back in 2012 and we really should be over that by now.
   
    
3. Fawkner (jockey - Nicholas Hall; trainer - Robert Hickmott)
   
   The horse I really wanted to win the Cox Plate ran a gallant second in that race after nearly throwing the rider as they left the barrier. Usually this stable sets their runners for this race but I can't help but feel that the Cox Plate was his grand final. In any case, his performance in the Cup last year was full of merit and he is clearly a better horse now than he was then. He'll have plenty of admirers on the day and I expect another strong effort. One of few local hopes - a win would please me but I can't quite see him getting there.
   
    
4. Red Cadeaux (jockey - Gerard Mosse; trainer - Ed Dunlop)
   
   Little Red Cadeaux...baby you're much too fast. Back for a fourth tilt at the Cup (and he's not the only one), Red Cadeaux is apparently going as well as ever (although his form suggests otherwise). At 9 years of age I'm assuming his best racing years are behind him, but connections still think he can win. He clearly loves this race, but if he were ever going to win one it would have been in 2011 (when the Thinker would have collected a tiny fortune had he not lost by the narrowest margin in Cup history...Sigh!)
   
    
5. Protectionist (jockey - Ryan Moore; trainer - Andreas Wohler)
   
   International..tick! Successful jockey...tick! Successful trainer...tick! Performed well in a lead-up race in Australia...tick! Heart Foundation approved...tick! Protectionist finished strongly in his first hit-out in Australia and was just behind the well-fancied Signoff. Meets Signoff 1.5 kilos better at the weights this time around and that form is looking okay. There is some doubt about him running two miles but he did win the Prix Kergolay in France this year and that race has given us the Cup winner in the past. Top English mount Ryan Moore takes the ride, the jockey that rode Adelaide to victory in the Cox Plate. Impossible to ignore.
   
    
6. Sea Moon (jockey - Tommy Berry; trainer - Robert Hickmott) - SCRATCHED
   
   When you have 24 runners in a race, there will always be some that are possible to ignore. Sea Moon is one of them, although he is some chance of being first past the finishing post on lap one. Not going well enough.
   
    
7. Seismos (jockey - Craig Newitt; trainer - Marco Botti)
   
   Imagine you're hosting a party. It's a big night and you call it stumps at around 4am. Then you get up around lunchtime for the clean-up. Seismos will still be there, sipping a beer at the kitchen bench. He is a stayers stayer and for that reason alone he will grind his way into a reasonable result on Tuesday (probably top ten). But Seismos sips his beers, and he'll never have the pace to run down your John Belushi/Makybe Diva types. Collects a cheque, and will help with the dishes if you ask him nicely.
   
    
8. Junoob (jockey - Hugh Bowman; trainer - Chris Waller)
   
   Pronounced You Noob. Actually it isn't, but that's what my brother called me when I said it could win the Caulfield Cup. It didn't, but he did actually find the line pretty well after getting the wobblies on the turn. I can't see it winning, but a place at big odds isn't impossible, and the trainer just keeps on winning everything at the moment. A value play for your trifecta tickets perhaps.
   
    
9. Royal Diamond (jockey - Steven Arnold; trainer - Johnny Murtagh)
   
   There are four Royal Diamonds listed on the horse racing database at the moment - it is such a boring obvious name for a racehorse is it not? This is the Irish version of Royal Diamond, and in his last start he was beaten by 12 lengths in the Irish St Leger. Not for mine.
   
    
10. Gatewood (jockey - William Buick; trainer - John Gosden)
    
    Gatewood tried ever so hard to make the Melbourne Cup field in 2012 but couldn't. Then he plodded around the country for another year before giving up and heading home. This year he's raced six times in Great Britain and France and never finished further back than second. Perhaps our races are better than we realise. Perhaps he doesn't like our weather. You could entertain him as a prospect on recent form but all those unplaced runs in Australia are hard to forget.
    
     
11. Mutual Regard (jockey - Damien Oliver; trainer - Johnny Murtagh)
    
    Mutual Regard has a really cool blaze down the front of his nose. He also has a jockey that wins this race almost as often as he doesn't, and some pretty compelling form in the United Kingdom. He hasn't raced here yet so you need to take a punt on him adapting to our racing conditions and beer. If the race has an 'X' factor he could be the one (although Redfoo looks like the sort of dude to turn up at Flemington and stake a similar claim). The weight of money suggests he can win. He's sexy and he knows it.
    
     
12. Who Shot TheBarman (jockey - Glenn Boss; trainer - Chris Waller)
    
    Fair question, even without a question mark. Who Shot TheBarman brings all that strong New Zealand form to this race, which used to be competitive years ago when it was lining up against horses that had won the Cranbourne Cup. I doubt that is good enough anymore, and his 13th place in the Caulfield Cup a few weeks ago didn't impress. But the trainer is a wizard, and the jockey won't be short on confidence.
    
     
13. Willing Foe (jockey - James McDonald; trainers - Saeed bin Suroor)
    
    Two starts back Willing Foe couldn't beat Seismos in Great Britain and Siesmos was barely sighted in the Caulfield Cup. The local (kiwi) in-form jockey is a big plus but winning this seems a stretch target. Perhaps a place at odds.
    
     
14. My Ambivalent (jockey - Andrea Atzani; trainer - Roger Varian)
    
    The horse formerly known as Ambivalent changed his name to avoid confusion with a slower Australian horse with the same name. My Ambivalent has impressed track watchers at Werribee with his dogged determination to avoid exercise. The trainer doesn't seem concerned. A name change didn't do Prince much good and I doubt it will help here.
    
     
15. Precedence (jockey - Michael Rodd; trainer - Bart Cummings)
    
    Like Red Cadeaux, Precedence is here for the fourth time. Unlike Red Cadeaux, Precedence has never run a place, although he was one of the better performing locals in 2013. The horse, like the trainer, isn't getting any younger. The Cummings polish only gets you so far, and I don't think Precedence is ever going to get any shinier. No.
    
     
16. Brambles (jockey - Luke Nolen; trainer - Peter Moody)
    
    This horse is my mad roughie this year. A close-up fourth in the Caulfield Cup was good enough, and the hit-out in the MacKinnon Stakes on Saturday is your more traditional Melbourne Cup campaign. This will be Brambles first attempt beyond 2400m but he gives the impression he'll appreciate the two miles. Genuine place hope.
    
     
17. Mr O'Ceirin (jockey - Chad Schofield; trainers - Ciaron Maher)
    
    An Irish sounding horse and an Irish sounding trainer, but Mr O'Ceirin is almost Australian (he's a Kiwi actually). Anyways, he ran seventh in the Cranbourne Cup at his last start and New Zealand form is better than that. Like Craig McLachlan doing stand-up comedy - cannot entertain.
    
     
18. Au Revoir (jockey - Glyn Schofield; trainer - Andre Fabre)
    
    Au Revoir is French for something - I'd look it up but I'm a busy man. Au Revoir ran third in the Moonee Valley Cup last month which was a fair effort, but it was hardly a performance that said 'back me next time'. If you want to back an international runner in the cup you have plenty of options - I would recommend one of the others.
    
     
19. Lidari (jockey - Ben Melham; trainer - Peter Moody)
    
    From the same stable as Brambles, Lidari also impressed in the Caulfield Cup. Again like Brambles he is yet to be tested beyond 2400m but he certainly looks like a stayer. Like Brambles, a place hope at big odds.
    
     
20. Opinion (jockey - Tye Angland; trainer - Chris Waller)
    
    A close second behind stablemate Junoob in the Metropolitan was followed by a flat performance in the Moonee Valley Cup. It's always hard to rule out a Chris Waller runner but on that latest performance I'm willing to risk.
    
     
21. Araldo (jockey - Dwayne Dunn; trainer - Michael Moroney)
    
    The Moroney camp have considered Araldo a Melbourne Cup horse for quite some time, and the fast-finishing fifth in the Caulfield Cup would suggest they may be right. If you took all these internationals out of the equation he would be a leading hope in a race like this. Running a place at decent odds wouldn't surprise me, but a win would just about knock me off my perch.
    
     
22. Lucia Valentina (jockey - Kerrin McEvoy; trainer - Kris Lees)
    
    The performance by Admire Rakti in the Caulfield Cup was breath-taking, and this wasn't far behind. Lucia is a lightly-weighted four year old mare in great form and she has an incredible turn of foot. There is a lot to like here. The only unanswered question - can she run the distance? I think she can, and if it's raining on Tuesday she is clearly my on-top selection.
    
     
23. Unchain My Heart (jockey - Dean Yendall; trainer - David Hayes and Tom Dabernig)
    
    Please....set me free.
    
     
24. Signoff (jockey - Joao Moreira; trainer Darren Weir)
    
    Straight to the top of betting markets on the back of a dominant win on Saturday, Signoff has the distinct advantage of being the only genuine lightweight in the field. Trainer Darren Weir went oh so close with She's Archie in 2003 and he's back again with a live chance. Arguably the best jockey in the world retains the ride after saluting on Saturday, and there is a sense of timing about this one. I'm not entirely convinced the form from Saturday is good enough for Tuesday, but he's impossible to ignore.

Selections

1st - Lucia Valentina

2nd - Admire Rakti

3rd - Brambles

4th - Protectionist

Best roughie - Cavalryman

Enjoy the race, and good luck!