Nom Du Jeu will spearhead the New Zealand challenge in Tuesday’s $A5.5 million Melbourne Cup after the final field was declared on Saturday.
But he will need luck in the running after drawing barrier one, a place that may confine him to being stuck on the rails in midfield.
“Six, seven or eight would have been more preferable, but a solid pace looks likely with the European contingent so that will help,” co-trainer Bjorn Baker.
Boundless and Prize Lady are the other two New Zealand trained runners in the field and the draw did not treat them well either.
Boundless drew 20 and Prize Lady 18.
The connections of 27 horses paid up for the 24-strong field and one of the unlucky ones to miss was Capecover which ran in the Saab Quality on Saturday.
Had Capecover won that race he would have gained automatic entry to the cup field, but jockey Craig Williams struck traffic problems in the straight and his run came too late.
The owners of Waikato horse Red Ruler decided not to pay the final acceptance fee of $A45,000 after he ran seventh in the Mackinnon Stakes on Saturday.
