Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in overseas international racing. Bringing with him a wealth of racing knowledge, Simon is the host and race caller for the overseas simulcast programme since 2008/09 season. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Racing Horizon’ and ‘Horse Racing – Results’.

Flemington Racecourse – Track Analysis (Melbourne Cup Day):

With no particular undulations, yet an extended stretch run that accommodates maximum fields of 24, the Flemington Racecourse - the most extensive in Melbourne - covers 1.27 square miles in acreage and 2312m in circumference. Runners still find the wide, sweeping turns manageable to concede precious ground with a gutsy wide move while homeward-bound, whereas an exhausting 450m stretch run asks every single front-runner of a gargantuan effort, even on a typical race day, to make every stride a winning one. In general, this track does slightly favour stalkers.

For the 1400m trip contested in both the Lexus Hybrid Plate and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes, a left-hander presents itself promptly after the break; yet being a sweeping turn so ample in breadth, it is somehow still easy on the outside-drawn runners; such is even more legit for the 1800m Melbourne Cup Day Plate, where there is a 400m straight for them to hopefully reach the rail before the first turn. Meanwhile, in the 1000m Schweppes Flemington Fling, and the 1200m MSS Security Sprint – both dashes staged on the “Straight Six” – runners breaking from inside post positions, surprising as it is, would be slightly disadvantaged.

As for the featured Melbourne Cup, a gruelling 3200m marathon that utilizes part of the “Straight Six” at the start of the trip, runners breaking from out wide still have all the time to position for a good slot and save ground before passing the judge for the first time; rather, in such a full field, inside-drawn runners, when their competition drops towards the rail, would risk getting protractedly boxed in with nowhere to go when it is time to make the move. In the 2016 running of this “Race that Stops a Nation”, the eventual tierce – ALMANDIN, HEARTBREAK CITY and HARTNELL – all travelled mid-pack early, and launched their bids from out wide while homeward-bound, in particular ALMANDIN and HEARTBREAK CITY, who opened up on the field down the stretch, and turned it into a two-horse slugfest battling heads apart towards the finish.

Reviewing the recent meeting at Flemington on 4th November, when the track was listed as good, through track bias was observed at its minimum, closers from far out still delivered better results. That being said, with intermittent rain through this week and heading into Tuesday – forecast as cloudy with a low chance for precipitation as of now – this year’s Melbourne Cup Day should still be contested on good to firm ground, and mid-pack stalkers with good acceleration should constitute the majority of race selections.

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