Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in pedigree and overseas international racing. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Horse Racing – Results’, ‘Simulcast Preview'’ and Simulcast oversea races.

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 mightiest in Melbourne - canvasses 1.27 square miles in acreage and 2312m in circumference. With its wide, sweeping turns, runners still find it manageable to concede precious ground and loop the field while homeward-bound, whereas a full 450m stretch run does require every single front-runner, even on a typical race day, to pull off a gargantuan trip and make every stride a winning one. In general, this track does slightly favour stalkers.

For the featured 3200m Melbourne Cup, a sapping marathon that starts mid-way through the famed ‘Straight Six’, runners breaking from out wide still have all the time to position well and save ground before passing the judge for the first time; that said, top-three finishers in recent years were particularly stalking just a flight or two off the early speed while saving ground. In the 2019 running of this ‘Race that Stops a Nation’ contested on soft turf, VOW AND DECLARE, the eventual winner, dropped towards the rail swiftly after the break, then let his competition to move over and took cover, before hustling his way back up again on the rail to reign supreme. This was quite a roughly-contested renewal, especially head-long into the final 200m, when MASTER OF REALITY interfered IL PARADISO to finish second, and was placed fourth, whereas PRINCE OF ARRAN, racing on the winner’s vanguard for almost the entire trip, and IL PARADISO, saving for one big, rail-skimming punch from way back, were moved up to second and third respectively.

Pertaining to the rest of the undercard, a left-hander promptly presents itself after the break for the BM90 Handicap and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (Maybe Mahal Stakes) over 1400m; however, this is still a wide, sweeping turn to cut some slacks on runners from bad posts. The same case stands likewise – and perhaps even more legit – for the 1800m Batman Stakes and Furphy Plate (Melbourne Cup Day Plate), as a full 400m straightaway does allow runners to reach the rail before the first turn. Meanwhile, like the Melbourne Cup, runners of the 2800m BM96 Handicap will also break from the home stretch, they will have enough time to find their favourable position. The 1200m MSS Security Sprint (Always Welcome Stakes) is staged on the famous ‘Straight Six’, and runners drawing low numbers, surprising as it might sound, would be slightly disadvantaged.

With intermittent rain that is still lingering the Melbourne area, sunny skies should return just in time for next Tuesday, and this year’s Melbourne Cup Day would hopefully be contested on good ground – which certainly will be a big plus for forwardly-placed runners that travel close to the rail.

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