Top Irish trainer Willie Mullins is eyeing Melbourne Cup glory after adding another string to his bow over the weekend.
Mullins already has the bookmakers’ favorite in the race, with impressive Royal Ascot winner Vauban currently a best-priced 5/1 for the big event.
His impressive seven-and-a-half length win in the Copper Horse Handicap and a subsequent victory in Group 3 race at Naas had the bookies running for cover.
They were handed more to think about last Saturday as the Mullins-trained Absurde won the Ebor Handicap at York under jockey Frankie Dettori.
The five-year-old finished a distant second behind Vauban at Ascot, but franked the form in gritty fashion by fending off his rivals on the Knavesmire.
The top horse racing betting sites responded by halving Absurde’s odds to win the Melbourne Cup to 20/1 and that price will attract plenty of interest from each-way punters.
Given the strong hand Mullins has at his disposal, bettors would be well-advised to visit odds comparison websites to find the best prices on his Melbourne Cup runners.
The horse will be a popular pick if Dettori is aboard in Australia, so those sites will be crucial in identifying where to find the best odds.
Absurde’s victory was made more remarkable given his antics before the race, which forced Dettori to walk him down to the stalls after he refused to go to the start.
Mullins admitted the talented stayer has previously shown plenty of signs of temperament at home, but is tempted by the prospect of tackling the Melbourne Cup.
“He’s a monkey and he always is at home but he hasn’t done anything like that for a while,” Mullin told Racing TV.
“It’s what he does if you let him get away with it. He’s been very good at home recently but it is in him.
“I’ll have to have a word with the owners about Melbourne, they are at a family do today but I’m sure they’d love to go.
“He’ll have no problem passing the vet – if they do a brain scan he might have a problem! What a remarkable jockey, you guys have known for a long time but I thought Frankie was brilliant.”
While Absurde is not yet guaranteed to take his chance in the Melbourne Cup, it is currently all systems go for Vauban.
The five-year-old has already passed his first two veterinary checks and only needs to navigate a final one in pre-export quarantine next month to be cleared to race.
Mullins, whose Max Dynamite twice finished placed in the Melbourne Cup, believes Vauban will have no problems with the final safety check.
Numerous trainers have criticized the strict nature of the rules for the race, but Mullins has no issues with the measures put in place by the organizers.
“I don’t foresee any problems – he’s never had any issues and I’m hoping everything will go well,” Mullins added.
“I think it’s good for racing we have these checks – we can’t have injuries happen on the day, anyhow, the more checks we have to stop them the better.
“I know it annoys a lot of trainers sometimes but you get used to it. We go racing now (in Ireland) and our horses are checked every day, it enhances our sport – it’s needed.”
With jockey Ryan Moore in line to ride Vauban in the Melbourne Cup, the horse could be a lot shorter than 5/1 by the time race day comes around.
Having twice come close to winning the historic race, Mullins will probably never have a better chance of ending his wait to add his name to the roll of honor.
