CANBERRA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The boss of Australia's biggest horse race believes he has found the right balance between foreign horses and locals as Chinese interest in the race reaches new heights.
More than a quarter of the jockeys competing in the 4.8 million U.S. dollar Melbourne Cup, which will be run at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, are plying their trade in Asia with six Hong-Kong based jockeys, and another from Singapore, being engaged by the Cup trainers.
Joao Moreira and Zac Purton, two of Hong Kong's most famous jockeys, have been enlisted to ride for Irish trainer Willie Mullins while Tommy Berry, Sam Clipperton, Chad Schofield and 2012 Melbourne Cup winner Brett Prebble also likely to have Cup mounts.
Glen Boss, who won three consecutive Melbourne Cups from 2003 to 2005 on Makybe Diva before moving to Singapore, has been engaged to ride outsider Ventura Storm.
The influx of jockeys from Asia has been a bonus for the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) with interest in the race in Hong Kong reaching unprecedented levels.
Despite international involvement raising the profile of the race on the global stage, Giles Thompson, chief executive of Racing Victoria, said that he believes half the field should be made up of local thoroughbreds.
"There is a balance. You don't want the whole Cup to be purely international. You want local interest," Thompson told Australian media on Friday.
"The idea is the internationals come down to take on the locals on their own patch. I suspect (the right number) depends on the strength of the internationals what the right number is. To have it (the Cup) proudly on your mantelpiece, as an Australian, I suspect you want to have beaten a few of these internationals," he continued.
As many as 24 stayers will run in the 3200-meter Melbourne Cup, the world's richest two-mile handicap race.
Despite the race becoming increasingly international in recent years, local horse owner Lloyd Williams has maintained a competitive edge over the raiders.
Williams, a property developer, has won five Melbourne Cups, including three in the last decade, and could own up to a third of the field on Tuesday.
Of the top 30 horses in contention to make the cup field, Williams owns eight, six of which are safely in the top 24 including 2016 winner and race favorite Almandin.
The Godolphin stable, which is owned by United Arab Emirates (UAE) vice-president and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will have one runner in Hartnell, which finished third in 2016.
