ALTHOUGH it is more than two months to the Melbourne Cup, star jockey Corey Brown is happy to have secured the mount on English raider Magic Circle.

Brown has placed faith in his manager Paul Webster, who last year nominated Rekindling as the horse he should ride and he was proved correct.

“Paul has only managed me since I got back from Singapore last year and he’s one for one,” Brown said.

Brown said although Webster was Australian he had spent a lot of time in England, knew the European form and was great mates with renowned English punter Harry Findlay.

“He said to chase Rekindling last year. I rang Lloyd (Williams) and he told me to make contact with the O’Brien camp and the rest is history.”

Brown said he had looked at videos of Magic Circle’s past two runs and was impressed. He looks pretty special. I don’t normally take Melbourne Cup mounts this far out.”

Brown was speaking after Racing Victoria’s Greg Carpenter described this year’s nominations — released on Thursday — for the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup as overwhelming.

Carpenter revealed there was 183 nominations for the Melbourne Cup up from 140 last year.

He said this was a record since Melbourne Cup nominations were moved to September in 2011.

Magic Circle has won his past two starts the Chester Cup and then the Henry 11 Cup at Sandown by six lengths.

Brown said he had spoken to Magic Circle’s flamboyant owner Marwan Koucash and met his regular rider Fran Berry when he rode in the Shergar Cup recently at Ascot.

“He did it with ease last start. He ticks all the boxes to be a Cup horse.”

Magic Circle was one of 50 international nominations for the Melbourne Cup which were announced on Thursday. There were also 27 for the Caulfield Cup.

Carpenter said the Caulfield Cup nominations increased from 142 last year to 164. Last year’s winner Boom Time was among the nominations.

RV’s international recruiter Paul Bloodworth said the depth of quality of the international horses in the Melbourne Cup was unmatched. He said they had more horses rated over 110 than they did in last year’s entries.

PRINCE OF ARRAN THE BIG FIRMER
Charlie Fellowes-trained Prince Of Arran has been the big firmer with TAB following the announcement of the nominations for the Melbourne Cup.

The five-year-old gelding shortened from $51 to $21, to sit on the second line of betting with Cross Counter, Magic Circle, Muntahaa and Count Octave.

Kings Will Dream, Withhold and Torcedor hold joint favouritism at $14.

There were 183 nominations for the 2018 edition of race that stops a nation.

TAB odds

MELBOURNE CUP
(price changes since nominations)
$14 Kings Will Dream (out from $13)

$14 Withhold (in from $15)

$14 Torcedor (in from $15)

$21 Cross Counter (out from $17)

$21 Magic Circle (out from $17)

$21 Muntahaa

$21 Prince Of Arran (in from $51)

$21 Count Octave (in from $26)

$26+ Others Quoted

* Reigning Melbourne Cup winning-trainer, Ireland’s Joseph O’Brien, has entered three horses for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in Irish Derby winner Latrobe, Ming and Master of Reality;

* Joseph’s father Aidan O’Brien has entered 12 horses for the Melbourne Cup with Deauville, Idaho, Cliffs of Moher and Yucatan also entered for the Caulfield Cup. Group 1 winners Kew Gardens and Lancaster Bomber are among those carrying a Melbourne Cup entry only for the Irish stable;

* Fellow New Zealand trainer Graeme Rogerson, the 2007 Melbourne Cup winning trainer, has entered three start veteran Surrey — the son of three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva;

* Chestnut Coat (Yoshito Yahagi) and Sole Impact (Hirofumi Toda) are set to fly the flag for Japan in the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups with entries received for both;

* Defending Caulfield Cup champion Boom Time will get his chance to become just the third back-to-back winner of the prized handicap. He is one of 15 entries in the race for the David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig stable alongside Australian Cup winner Harlem;

* 2015 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Darren Weir has 28 chances of claiming another with Japanese imports Admire Robson and Tosen Basil, and Group 1 winners Humidor and Sopressa amongst his swag of entries;

* Weir also has 25 horses nominated for the Caulfield Cup including the warm favourite Kings Will Dream who has already secured his place in the field courtesy of his runaway win in this year’s Mornington Cup;

* Premier trainer Chris Waller is another making a major assault on the spring features with 24 entered for the Caulfield Cup and 21 for the Melbourne Cup. Amongst his dual entries are last season’s Group 1 winners Comin’ Through, D’Argento, Unforgotten and Youngstar.

* Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have entered six horses in both the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup with enormous intrigue surrounding their imported northern hemisphere three-year-old Hush Writer;

* Global powerhouse Godolphin has three trainers — Charlie Appleby, Saeed bin Suroor and James Cummings — spearheading its pursuit of a maiden Melbourne Cup triumph and second Caulfield Cup;

* Appleby’s Cups entries are headlined by Cross Counter (Melbourne Cup); Emotionless (Caulfield and Melbourne Cups) and Hamada (Melbourne Cup); bin Suroor has Group 1 winner Best Solution (Caulfield and Melbourne Cups) among his entries; whilst highly-rated French import Avilius (Caulfield and Melbourne Cups) has been nominated by Cummings;

* Germany’s 2014 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Andreas Wohler has entered recent stable acquisition, Ascot Gold Cup placegetter Torceder, for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups;

* Ebor Handicap quinella Muntahaa and Weekender have been nominated for the Melbourne Cup by trainer John Gosden;

* Last year’s Caulfield Cup runner-up Single Gaze, a new acquisition to the Chris Waller stable, and fourth placed Lord Fandango (Archie Alexander) feature among the entries for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups;

* Hall of Fame owner Lloyd Williams’ hopes of securing a third consecutive Melbourne Cup remain with 16 horses — 14 prepared by his private trainer Liam Howley and the Joseph O’Brien pair of Latrobe and Master of Reality;

* 10-year-old crowd favourite Who Shot Thebarman (Chris Waller), the 2018 Sydney Cup winner, remains on target to contest a fourth Melbourne Cup with his entry. His best placed finish a third in 2014 to Protectionist;

* Ace High will get the chance to become just the third VRC Derby champion to win Melbourne Cup as a four-year-old with his nomination. The David Payne-trained entire also features in the Caulfield Cup entries;

* Last season’s Guineas-winning duo Grunt (Australian Guineas) and Mighty Boss (Caulfield Guineas) have been nominated for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups by trainer Mick Price who is chasing his first win in both;

* 2018 Perth Cup winner Material Man (Justin Warwick) and runner-up and Pounamu (Alan Mathews), the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic winner, has hold entries for both Cups;

* The powerful New Zealand stable of Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman have a quintet of entries in both Cups headlined by Group 1 winners Bonneval, Jon Snow and Vin de Dance;

and

* Former New Zealand five-year-old mare Our Libretto, a veteran of just four starts, has been nominated for both the Cups after a stylish win at Ladbrokes Park (Sandown) yesterday.

MELBOURNE CUP
Abdon (GB) Ace High (Aus) AdmIre Robson (Jpn) Al Haram (FR) Ambitious (Jpn) Another Dollar (NZ) Auvray (FR) Avilius (GB) Azuro (FR)

Bedford (NZ) Belgravia (Ire) Best Of Days (GB) Best Solution (Ire) Big Duke (Ire) Bonneval (NZ) Brimham Rocks (GB)

Calibration (Ire) Casterton (Ire) Chelkar (FR) Chequered Flag (NZ) Chestnut Coat (Jpn) Cliffs Of Moher (Ire) Comin’ Through (Aus) Cordero (Aus) Count Octave (GB) Cross Counter (GB) Cullingworth (Ire)

Dal Harraild (GB) Dandy Gent (Aus) Danon Roman (Jpn) D’Argento (Aus) Deauville (Ire) Desert Skyline (Ire) Divine Unicorn (GB) Doha Dream (FR) Domed (Aus) Douglas Macarthur (Ire) Duretto (GB)

Egg Tart (Aus) Emotionless (Ire) Etah James (NZ) Exemplar (Ire)

Finche (GB) Flag Of Honour (Ire)

Gallic Chieftain (FR) Game Starter (Ire) Giuseppe Garibaldi (Ire) Golden Authority (NZ) Grunt (NZ) Guardini (FR)

Hamada (GB) Hans Holbein (GB) Happy Moment (Jpn) Haripour (Ire) Harlem (GB) Harrison (GB) He Ekscels (NZ) Here And Now (GB) High Bridge (GB) Highlad (Aus) Hiyaam (NZ) Homesman (USA) Humidor (NZ) Hunting Horn (Ire) Hush Writer (Jpn)

Idaho (Ire) Ilwendo (Ger) Invictus Prince (GB)

Jaameh (Ire) Jake’s Hill (GB) Jon Snow (NZ)

Kellstorm (Ire) Kew Gardens (Ire) Kilimanjaro (Ire) Kings Will Dream (Ire)

Ladies First (NZ) Lagostovegas (Ire) Lancaster Bomber (USA) Langley (Jpn) Latrobe (Ire) Libran (Ire) Life Less Ordinary (Ire) Lord Fandango (Ger) Luvaluva (NZ)

Magic Circle (Ire) Marmelo (GB) Master Of Reality (Ire) Master Zephyr (GB) Material Man (Aus) Max Dynamite (FR) Megablast (NZ) Midterm (GB) Mighty Boss (Aus) Milseain (NZ) Ming (Aus) Miss Admiration (Aus) Mongolianconqueror (NZ) Mr Clarify (NZ) Mr Garcia (GB) Mr Moonlight Magic (GB) Muntahaa (Ire) Mustajeer (GB)

Nakeeta (GB) Naval Warfare (Ire) Nelson (Ire) Night’s Watch (NZ) Northwest Passage (Aus)

Odeon (NZ) One Foot In Heaven (Ire) Opposition (GB) Orderofthegarter (Ire) Ormito (Ger) Our Abbadean (NZ) Our Libretto (NZ) Our Venice Beach (Ire)

Pacodali (Ire) Patrick Erin (NZ) Pentathlon (NZ) Peribsen (Ire) Pioneertown (Ire) Plein Ciel (Ger) Poetic Dream (Ire) Pounamu (Aus) Prince Of Arran (GB) Prize Money (GB)

Red Cardinal (Ire) Red Verdon (USA) Rezealient (Aus) Rising Red (NZ) Romanesque (Ire) Rostropovich (Ire) Runaway (Aus)

Satono Rasen (Jpn) Self Sense (Aus) Sense Of Occasion (Aus) Shimrano (Ger) Shraaoh (Ire) Sin To Win (NZ) Single Gaze (Aus) Sir Charles Road (Aus) Sir Chauvelin (GB) Sir John Lavery (Ire) Sixties Groove (Ire) Sole Impact (Jpn) Sopressa (Aus) Sound Check (Ger) Steps (Ire) Stratum (GB) Sully (NZ) Supernova (GB) Surrey (Aus) Sydney Blue (Aus)

Tall Ship (Ire) Tavistock Abbey (NZ) The Lord Mayor (NZ) The Pentagon (Ire) The Statesman (GB) The Taj Mahal (Ire) Thinkin’ Big (Aus) Thomas Hobson (GB) Tiberian (FR) Tiffany’s Lass (Aus) Top Of The Range (NZ) Torcedor (Ire) Tosen Basil (Jpn) Trap For Fools (Aus)

Unforgotten (Aus) Us Army RanGer (Ire)

Valac (Ire) Vengeur Masque (Ire) Ventura Storm (Ire) Vin De Dance (NZ)

Wall Of FIre (Ire) Walton Street (GB) Weekender (GB) Wheal Leisure (Aus) Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) Withhold (GB) Wolfe Tone (NZ)

Yogi (NZ) Youngstar (Aus) Yucatan (Ire)

Zacada (NZ)

CAULFIELD CUP
Abdon (GB) Ace High (Aus) AdmIre Robson (Jpn) Al Haram (FR) All Too Soon (Aus) Almost Court (NZ) Alward (Ire) Ambitious (Jpn) Another Dollar (NZ) Auvray (FR) Avilius (GB) Azuro (FR)

Bedford (NZ) Belgravia (Ire) Best Of Days (GB) Best Solution (Ire) Big Duke (Ire) Bonneval (NZ) Boom Time (Aus) Brimham Rocks (GB)

Casterton (Ire) Chelkar (FR) Chestnut Coat (Jpn) Cliffs Of Moher (Ire) Comin’ Through (Aus) Cordero (Aus) Count Octave (GB)

Dal Harraild (GB) Danon Roman (Jpn) D’Argento (Aus) Deauville (Ire) Divine Unicorn (GB) Domed (Aus) Douglas Macarthur (Ire) Duretto (GB)

Egg Tart (Aus) Emotionless (Ire) Etah James (NZ) Exemplar (Ire)

Finche (GB) First Crush (Aus) Folkswood (GB)

Gallic Chieftain (FR) Game Starter (Ire) Grunt (NZ) Guardini (FR)

Hans Holbein (GB) Happy Moment (Jpn) Harlem (GB) Harrison (GB) He Ekscels (NZ) Hello It’s Me (NZ) Here And Now (GB) High Bridge (GB) Highlad (Aus) Hiyaam (NZ) Homesman (USA) Humidor (NZ) Hush Writer (Jpn)

Idaho (Ire) Invictus Prince (GB)

Jaameh (Ire) Jake’s Hill (GB) Jon Snow (NZ)

Kaonic (NZ) Kellstorm (Ire) Kilimanjaro (Ire) Kings Will Dream (Ire)

La Bella Diosa (NZ) Langley (Jpn) Latrobe (Ire) Libran (Ire) Life Less Ordinary (Ire) Lord Fandango (Ger) Luvaluva (NZ)

Mahamedeis (Aus) Master Of Reality (Aus) Master Zephyr (GB) Material Man (Aus) Midterm (GB) Mighty Boss (Aus) Milseain (NZ) Ming (Aus) Miss Admiration (Aus) Mongolianconqueror (NZ) Mr Garcia (GB) Mr Moonlight Magic (GB) Mustajeer (GB)

Naval Warfare (Ire) Nettoyer (Aus) Night’s Watch (NZ)

Odeon (NZ) One Foot In Heaven (Ire) Opposition (GB) Order Again (NZ) Orderofthegarter (Ire) Oregon’s Day (Aus) Ormito (Ger) Our Abbadean (NZ) Our Libretto (NZ) Our Venice Beach (Ire)

Pacodali (Ire) Patrick Erin (NZ) Pilote D’Essai (GB) Pioneertown (Ire) Pleasuring (Aus) Plein Ciel (Ger) Poetic Dream (Ire) Pounamu (Aus) Prince Of Arran (GB) Prize Money (GB) Prized Icon (Aus)

Red Cardinal (Ire) Red Verdon (USA) Rezealient (Aus) Rising Red (NZ) Roman Son (Aus) Romanesque (Ire)

Samovare (Aus) Satono Rasen (Jpn) Sedanzer (Aus) Self Sense (Aus) Sense Of Occasion (Aus) Sheezdashing (Aus) Shillelagh (NZ) Shoreham (Aus) Sikandarabad (Ire) Silent Warrior (Aus) Sin To Win (NZ) Single Gaze (Aus) Sir Charles Road (Aus) Sir John Lavery (Ire) Sole Impact (Jpn) Sopressa (Aus) Sound Check (Ger) Spanish Reef (Aus) Steps (Ire) Sully (NZ)

Tall Ship (Ire) Tavistock Abbey (NZ) Teodoro (Ire) The Lord Mayor (NZ) The Taj Mahal (Ire) Tiberian (FR) Tom Melbourne (Ire) Top Of The Range (NZ) Torcedor (Ire) Tosen Basil (Jpn) Trap For Fools (Aus)

Unforgotten (Aus) Us Army RanGer (Ire)

Valac (Ire) Vengeur Masque (Ire) Ventura Storm (Ire) Vin De Dance (NZ)

Waging War (Aus) Wall Of FIre (Ire) Wheal Leisure (Aus) Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) Willi Willi (Aus)

Yogi (NZ) Youngstar (Aus) Yucatan (Ire)

Zacada (NZ)