GOLDEN TICKET
The Listed Lexus Andrew Ramsden (2800m) is the second golden ticket race. First granted ballot exemption status in 2019, the race has produced four Lexus Melbourne Cup runners since. Won last year by Basilinna , it provides connections with valuable time to map out a Cup preparation aimed at peaking on the first Tuesday in November. INTERNATIONAL GOLDEN TICKETS The road to the Cup then heads abroad, beginning with the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup (3200m) in the United States on June 4. The race has been held at Saratoga for the past three years while Belmont Park undergoes redevelopment. In challenging conditions last year, the race was shifted to the dirt and shortened in distance, with Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott ’s Parchment Party producing a dominant eight-length victory in the sloppy conditions. Despite expectations that connections might decline the trip down under, he travelled to Australia and made history as the first American- trained runner in the race. Attention then turns to the UK and the historic Ebor Handicap (2816m) at York on August 22. The race was given golden ticket status in 2023, but has produced strong Melbourne Cup contenders prior to that. Champion Irish trainer Willie Mullins ’ Absurde won the first golden ticket on offer for the Ebor and took up the challenge of bringing the gelding down for the Cup, finishing a credible seventh in the Cup, before subsequent runs of fifth in 2024 and eighth in 2025.
OPPOSITE: Whisky On The Hill claimed the first golden ticket into the 2026 Lexus Melbourne Cup, winning the Lexus Roy Higgins. (Image credit: Pat Scala/Racing Photos) ABOVE: ‘ Très bien!’ Americain became the first French-trained winner of the Melbourne Cup, he won the Prix Kergolay in the lead up to his historic Cup victory. (Image credit: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
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