England expects

WALL Of Fire might “feel like an Aussie now” but trainer Hugo Palmer is upbeat the fiveyear-old can end the run of near misses and finally give England its first Melbourne Cup triumph.

OF all the miracles Willie Mullins has conjured with horses, a Melbourne Cup victory would elevate Max Dynamite to the top of the revered Irishman’s list.

Second in the 2015 Cup behind Prince Of Penzance after jumping from barrier two — the same gate as today — Max Dynamite has had only four starts since.

He will attempt to become the first international to claim Australian racing’s most coveted prize without a leadup run here since Vintage Crop in 1993.

But his sizzling trackwork at Werribee suggests he is primed for a landmark performance.

Regarded as a training genius by compatriots such as Aidan O’Brien and Tony Martin, Mullins will have two other Cup runners, Wicklow Brave and Thomas Hobson.

Mullins hinted that Max Dynamite was at the top of his pecking order.

“He’s the classiest horse of the three but he hasn’t had as many runs as the other two this year,’’ Mullins said.

“We’ve had a different approach. We’ll find out in the Cup if it works out or not.”

Mullins will chase history on several fronts.

Wicklow Brave is the oldest horse in the Cup at nine. No nine-year-old has ever won the Cup.

Thomas Hobson and Max Dynamite are eight by Australian time. No eightyear-old has won the Cup since Catalogue in 1938.