DET TORI’S D ATE WITH CUP DES TINY
FRANKIE Dettori touched down in Melbourne yesterday, keen to erase the demons of Cups gone by and make the most of his late call- up for defending champ Almandin in the $ 6.2 million feature at Flemington today.
Dettori’s Cup mission dates back to 1993. He has always felt 1999 was the one that got away. That year he rode Central Park into second, but only after Godolphin’s top seed Kayf Tara was sidelined by injury.
Two years ago he was a fast- closing second on Max Dynamite.
“This race has eluded me for so many years so the chance to ride the favourite is very exciting,” he said.
“It is up there with the very best ( races in the world).
“The Melbourne Cup has grown in stature over the last 20 years. Horses from all over the world, it’s the one every jockey wants to win and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win it, so I’m going to try again.
“I managed to get 10 hours sleep on the plane. The adrenaline has already kicked in, I’m so excited. It’s going to be a great race and let’s hope we can break this hoodoo.”
He described Almandin’s last- start fourth in the Bart Cummings as “a good prep race”.
“If he could do it twice, it would be absolutely amazing,” he said.
Dettori is one of the world’s most flamboyant riders but even he has been taken aback by what he has seen at Flemington during his Melbourne Cup visits. “It’s absolute mayhem,” he says. “One year someone stuck a broom on some sort of inflatable doll and started waving it in front of my horse.
“You see all sorts of masks and crazy things out there. We try to concentrate, but it’s part and parcel of the Melbourne Cup carnival. It’s all good banter and it’s very exciting.”
Dettori rates Marmelo the best of this year’s imports and also has respect for Rekindling after his solid three- year- old season in Europe.
“The last run of Marmelo was pretty impressive. He looks like he needs two miles. He has had time to acclimatise, so he would be my No. 1 of the Europeans,” he said.
Asked to compare his Arc winner Enable with Australia’s champion Winx, Dettori said he would stick with the European filly. “Take nothing away from Winx,” he said. “She’s won 22 races in a row, she’s your phenomenon.
“Who knows if it will happen or not ( a clash between the two), but I would stick with mine.” CUP LATEST: INSIDE