AN incredible week of Flat racing starts Down Under in the early hours of Tuesday and ends with a late night in the USA a week today.
By the time the  Melbourne Cup is run at 4am UK time  Iâll hopefully be  at Keeneland to bring you all the news and build up for next weekendâs Breedersâ Cup on Sky.
But thatâs not to say the âRace That âStops A Nationâ wonât be firmly in my mind.
Iâm lucky enough to have gone to three Melbourne Cups, and  being at Flemington when Makybe Diva won her third in a row was a day I will never forget.
I still have the front page of local paper framed and signed by trainer Lee Freedman and jockey Glen Boss and itâs something I treasure.
Indeed, Iâm looking up at the copy while writing this column, and hoping the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Gold Trip might be the latest horse to join the legends to have won this coveted prize.
Now Gold Trip might be a familiar name to some of you as, like so many of the stayers in Australia, heâs an ex-European who used to be with Fabrice Chappet in France.
The son of Outstrip (a Breedersâ Cup winner, incidentally) has only raced up to a mile and a half and has to go two miles on Tuesday.
But heâs always looked like a proper middle distance/staying animal, and has to his name in Europe a third to Mogul in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and fourth behind Sottsass and In Swoop in the Arc at Longchamp.
Now thatâs better form than likely Cup favourite Deauville Legend and, while Gold Trip has to give that rival 6lb, I think heâll be up to it.
Gold Trip was a fine second (giving nearly a stone) to the scratched Durston in the Caulfield Cup and that was his only recent run over a staying trip. Last time he never got into the Cox Plate over a mile and a quarter but wasnât beaten far.
Iâll be backing Gold Trip each-way at 14-1 and hoping for the best, but I wonât take the challenge of Deauville Legend lightly.
Heâs the perfect type for the Melbourne Cup and James Ferguson got a great run from El Bodegon in the Cox Plate when he was third behind Anamoe at Moonee Valley.
Of the others, Iâll be happily surprised if Without A Fight under champion jockey William Buick is good enough for Simon and Ed Crisford as he seems to like dominating small fields.
That said, he does have one decent second at Meydan to Hukum in a Group 2 in which there were 14 runners so I might be wrong!
Iâll have more on the Breedersâ Cup next Saturday, but the Classic is looking a belter with the worldâs best racehorse Flightline trying to remain unbeaten for John Sadler.
Victory for the son of Tapit really is important, because in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar he really did look like one of the best thoroughbreds anyone has ever seen.
That near 20-length romp over the Dubai World Cup hero Country Grammar was quite simply breathtaking.
The last time I was at Keeneland I saw Triple Crown victor American Pharoah dominate the Classic. It was fantastic â but this could be awesome.
Closer to home Iâll be hosting the Opening Show for ITV this morning at Wetherby so  join us if you can.
The feature is the Grade 2 bet365 Charlie Hall Chase and with the crack second season chasers Bravemansgame and Ahoy Senor going head to head in what looks a cracking three-mile event.
I love Ahoy Senor, for Lucinda Russell and partner Peter Scudamore, the former multiple champion jockey who never got the credit he deserved as a rider.
Scu and Lucinda are a cracking couple â in fact Iâd be surprised if the latter hasnât shouted âAhoy Senorâ to Scu from time to time!
FREE BETS GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chases their losses
- Doesnât gamble if theyâre upset, angry or depressed
- Gamcare â www.begambleaware.org
