24 horses and plenty of chances make this year's Melbourne Cup a tricky one to work out with international raiders and the best of the local stayers, so if you are looking to pedigree for clues to find this year's winner read on.
Click here to see pedigrees for all 24 Cup runners.
It's going to be a reasonably wet Cup eve, with a few early showers possible on the big day. I'm expecting a track that's around the soft 5 / 6 range but hopefully no worse!
Top Pick: ZAHRANN (IRE)
I am going out on a limb here with this five year old stallion who is very lightly raced, is by a sire better known for 1600-2000m winners, probably wouldn’t like a really wet track, and sports blinkers on first time.
But there's something about this athletic horse and his breeding that really grabs my attention, and his Caulfield Cup run was excellent. After narrowly avoiding getting caught up in the horror fall he picked himself up and finished on stoutly along the rail. Forgive the Turnbull flop, the trainer admitted he got it wrong and Zahrann was staying at 2000m there after his brilliant win in the Naturalism over St George.
Prior to that he was a close fourth to subsequent Caulfield Cup winner Kingswood when first up in the Heatherlie. To me, he looks like a horse that is wanting further now. He won the G3 Royal Whip and was runner up in the G2 King Edward Vii at Royal Ascot so certainly does not lack for class. Zahrann's overall career stats read 12 -4-2-1.
Trained by Johnny Murtagh in the UK, the entire was purchased privately by Ozzie Kheir and partners to join the Ciaron Maher stable.
The incredible Dubawi sireline is endlessly versatile distance-wise, but supremely consistent in terms of class, and Zahrann’s sire Night Of Thunder is on fire this season.
Zahraan himself is a product of the revered Aga Khan Studs and was bred from one of their finest families.
Note that he is closely related to Zarak ( by Dubawi), the sire of Cup hopeful and Epsom Derby placed James J Braddock, another lightly raced stayer bred from a mare with incredibly stout damlines.
Zahrann is the best of two winners from Zannda ( Azamour), who won over 12 furlongs at three and is bred x 2 to the great Classic stamina influence Darshaan, with dual Derby hero Kahyasi, Last Tycoon, the tough Busted son Shernazar and Val De Loir lined up on her blue chip damline which descends from the great filly Petite Etoile, a champion European stayer at three and four years.
She was a granddaughter of Blue Hen Mah Iran, three quarter sister to Mahmoud - and this is a famous branch of family 9-c with many Classic winners worldwide including Arc heroine Zarkava, the dam of Zarak.
Zahrann is bred
Shirley Heights 5m x 5m, and to Shirley Heights son Darshaan x 5f, 4m
(With further lines to their tail male ancestor Mill Reef via the great stayer Reference Point, and Mill Reef daughters via Desert Prince and Last Tycoon)
Miswaki 5f x 5f
Interesting patterns:
Linebred and sex balanced to great Classic influence Crepello and to his son Busted; linebred to Habitat with a line to his relation Shareef Dancer; linebred to Nijinsky, Roberto, Buckpasser, and to Zariba (ancestress of Dubawi and Dalakhani) and much more!
Ben Melham takes the reins on Zahrann and they have drawn to get a good run from barrier 11 - can Benny level up with partner Jamie and get his first Cup win? He was runner up on Johannes Vermeer in 2017.
Next Best: SONS AND LOVERS
Pedigrees don't win races, but purely on breeding I have to include this talented stayer despite the big weight - he had to draw low to be a chance and he has, so I'm not leaving him out.
He's a G2 winner over 3000m in Saudi, a G2 winner at Longchamp, fourth in the Dubai Gold Cup and a winner of the G3 Ballyroan Stakes in the UK who carries big weights well and handles a bit of give - probably prefers it at this stage of his career.
From 26 starts for O'Brien, Sons And Lovers has won six races and placed in eight more for earnings of just under $5 million.
Bred by Kirsten Rausing and owned by the HOS Syndicate, the six year old is a son of G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Study Of Man, a son of Deep Impact and close relation of Kingmambo who (like that sire) inherited an elite turn of foot from his second dam, Nureyev's great daughter Miesque.
His best offspring to date is the magnificent 4 x G1 winning mare Kalpana.
Sons And Lovers is out of stakes winner So In Love by Mr Prospector's royally bred G1 winner Smart Strike who has also produced Cheshire Oaks runner up Secret Of Love ( Sea The Moon). Her dam Soft Morning was a multiple stakes winner by mighty Pivotal out of a Nashwan mare who was also dam of an Italian Oaks placed filly. Slip Anchor and Petingo are the next two sires on the damline which traces to Blue Hen Vali by Vieux Manoir. This family is entwined in our Cups history through the deeds of Zabeel - his second damsire was by Vali's son Val De Loir and he was bred x 2 to her sire Sunny Boy. The ancestress of Sons And Lovers Shenandoah is full sister to Val De Loir.
Sons And Lovers is bred
Nureyev 4f x 5m ( his own family, 5-h)
A standout feature in his pedigree is linebreeding to the late Queen's great mare Highclere via three quarter sisters Height Of Fashion by Bustino, dam of Nashwan, and Burghclere by Busted, grand dam of Deep Impact. Pivotal also descends from a Bustino mare.
Sons and Lovers will be piloted by Ireland's Champion jockey of 2025, Dylan Browne Mcmonagle, who rode 11 winners in Australia during 2023/24 (including at Flemington) and has ridden 3 G1 winners this year. He's a gun jockey and this is his first Cup ride, go well young man!
Dylan and the big boy Sons And Lovers will launch from barrier 3.
Roughie: ZACOUMA (AUS)
Zacouma zoomed into the Cup when he charged home from the back of the field to win the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m) and give trainer Grahame Begg another shot at the dream.
The lightly raced six year old son of Crowded House has been kept ticking over since then, just waiting to get to the two mile trip he was bred for.
Zakouma's career stats read 18-5-2-1 for winnings of just under $400,000. It's a far cry from some of the big names engaged but I'm convinced this horse under 52kg is going to run a huge race!
Zakouma is a homebred for West Aussie Trevor Delroy of Wyadup Valley Farms.
The savvy and determined Delroy is one of those admirable breeders who care nothing for fashion and follow their own star - with notable success.
Zakouma's sire Crowded House commenced his breeding career at Wattle Grove Stud in NSW where he stood alongside the champion Helenus, also owned by Delroy and from whom he bred the G1 winning stayers Ethiopia and Cedarburg.
Delroy established Wyadup Valley Farm's Lancefield property and relocated the flashy imported G1 winner Crowded House to the new facility.
The handsome and blueblooded Crowded House deserved more attention that he received from mare owners.
The striking chestnut had a blueblood’s pedigree to match his looks, being by Blushing Groom’s Arc hero and champion sire Rainbow Quest from a daughter of Storm Cat’s stakes winning half sister Chapel Of Dreams.
The stallion died in 2021 having stood for eight seasons, during which time his biggest book was 29 mares (most of his progeny were out of Delroy’s own well bred matrons) and sired 111 foals.
Zakouma is his only stakes winner. I’m getting St Jean / Half Yours vibes here.
The breeding of Zakouma is something to make all pedigree nerds do a little dance of joy.
It’s a story of sisters. Let’s start with Delroy’s G1 Queensland Oaks winning filly Gondokoro and her G1 SA Derby winning full brother Zabeelionaire ( one of the best Zabeel names ever wasn't it?) which he bred from the winning Carnegie daughter Kisumu.
Kisumu visited Zabeel five times and this Blue Hen produced two full sisters to Gondokoro, and one is Zakouma's unraced dam Dar Es Salaam.
Zakouma is her first foal to race.
Zakouma is bred
Raise A Native 5f,5m x
Northern Dancer 4f x 5m,5m,6m
Nureyev x4f,5f
Blue Hen Derna x5f,5f
His dam Dar Es Salaam is by Zabeel - dam by Nureyev from Valderna by Val De Loir, (a son of Blue Hen Vali) from Derna.
Her dam Kisimu is by Carnegie (by Sadlers Wells who sex balances Special, the dam of Nureyev and is out of Derna's daughter Detroit by Never Bend son Riverman)
Her fourth dam Vivre En Paix is by Nureyev out of Vali's daughter Veda who was sired by Vieux Manoir's grandson Snob!
Into this hothouse mix we throw the influence of Blue Hen Lalun, duplicated by her sons Bold Reason and Never Bend x 2 and the mighty genetic affinities she has with Zacouma's second damsire Darshaan, the greatest nick for Carnegie's sire Sadler's Wells.
These three lines of matriarch Derna by Teddy's son Sunny Boy and introduction of Vali ( also by Sunny Boy) as damsire of Vieux Manoir work so well because Vieux Manoir descends from the same family as Nureyev and Sadler's Wells.
The pedigree is also about the interplay of nicks between the breedshaping French sires sire Teddy - there is honestly more Teddy going on here than at a teddy bear's picnic - and Djebel, as well as Djebel’s sire Tourbillon and his female line ( Lalun's damsire Djeddah is absolutely a lynchpin in it all)
What Crowded House brings to the equation is a scintillating turn of foot. It's no surprise that his close relation Storm Cat has forged a prosperous nick with great Classic influences like Deep Impact and Galileo. Zabeel is “our” Galileo.
Back in the damlines of Crowded House via Crimson Satan we find two daughters of Val Dor, sired by the English Triple Crown hero Flying Fox who is also the grandsire of Teddy, while Crowded House himself descends from a daughter of Sir Gallahad by Teddy from Blue Hen Plucky Liege.
His tail male line ancestor Blushing Groom is a close relative of Darshaan’s grandsire Mill Reef, with Blushing Groom coming through Rainbow Quest who is from the family of Jock, sire of Zabeel's inbred ancestor Sunny Boy.
As well, this amazing pedigree boasts key duplications of Blue Hens Somethingroyal, All Moonshine, La Troienne and Boxeuse, the ancestress of Derna herself - she is the third dam of the mighty Herbarger, the damsire of Rainbow Quest.
Zakouma and Cox Plate winning jockey Willie Pike will be flying home from barrier 10. Go the Aussies!
Blowout: WINE DARK SEA (GB)
Ah, you see, there is method in my Homeric madness - because “ the wine dark sea” is probably the poet's most oddly beautiful and famous phrase. (Read here for Melbourne Cup - wing on every hoof)
Wine Dark Sea the horse is friendless after his Caulfield Cup run, but I thought there were excuses, and he improves second up too. He was caught wide early and went forward at Caulfield to sit outside the leader and briefly hit the front before fading late. He has drawn barrier 23 here, sounds like a death knell to his chances but is it? Flemington is a very different track.
Recent Cup history with barriers in brackets:
2025 2nd ( 20) and 4th (21)
2022 3rd (22)
2021 4th (22)
2020 2nd (21)
2019 winner (23) 3rd (20)
2018 winner (23)
2017 winner (22)
All but a couple of these were imports. Being drawn wide tends to suit their racing style on the big track. Admittedly, they all carried less weight than Wine Dark Sea will on Tuesday, but if he can slot in somewhere just off the pace ( please, please don't lead) then I reckon he can unleash a big finish!
Harry Charlton's progressive five year old broke the 2200m Carlisle track record, hard held, by 13 lengths, under 64kg three starts ago ( at which point he was part- purchased by Australian Bloodstock) and then easily picked up the G3 Geoffrey Freer 2600m at Newbury.
The veteran of just 11 starts has won 4 and placed in 2 for $309,842 in earnings.
Bred by Dan Gilbert who retains a share in his ownership along with Sonny Grebe, Wine Dark Sea has a great pedigree.
Wine Dark Sea is bred
Blue Hen Urban Sea 3m x 3m ( Galileo and Sea The Stars)
Sadlers Wells 3m x 5m
Mr Prospector 5m,4m x 5m ( x 2 Miswaki)
His dam Ajwibah is full sister in blood to G1 German Derby winner Sea The Moon.
His grand dam Sortita by the legend Monsun was full sister to two German Derby winners and a German Oaks winner.
His sire Ulysses ( Galileo) was a dual G1 winner, 3 x G1 placed (third in an Arc)
He descends from the champion German filly Bravour by Birkhan, who sired Urban Sea's ancestress Almyra ( Monsun sex balances Birkhan) and is linebred to the Rough Shod family ( Sadler's Wells, Nureyev, Ridan) which is the wider family of Monsun's sire Konigsstuhl.
I mean if we are talking Euro staying pedigrees this is the absolute cream.
I am betting two miles at Flemington will be right in Wine Dark Sea's wheelhouse - and he retains the services of Damian Lane who got a good feel for the horse in his lead up run.
Damian and Wine Dark Sea will commence their Cup voyage from barrier 23.
Good luck and - as Homer may have phrased it - may your Cup horse have a wing on every hoof!
