Protectionist pulled-up from his Caulfield Cup run with severe bone bruising
Gone to the paddock, for at least six months

Let's Make Adeal another casualty
Ruled out from the race through injury after trackwork recently

2.5kg penalty The United States now 52.5kg

Latest nominations

No Horse Trainer Weight
1 Snow Sky (GB) Sir Michael Stoute 58
2 Criterion (NZ) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig 57.5
3 Fame Game (Jpn) Yo********ada Munakata 57
4 Mongolian Khan Murray Baker 56
5 Our Ivanhowe (Ger) Lee & Anthony Freedman 56
6 Hartnell (GB) John O'Shea 55.5
7 Hokko Brave (Jpn) Yasutoshi Matsunaga 55.5
8 Big Orange (GB) Michael Bell 55.5
9 Trip To Paris (Ire) Ed Dunlop 55
10 Red Cadeaux (GB) Ed Dunlop 55
11 Max Dynamite (Fr) William Mullins 55
12 Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) Chris Waller 54.5
13 The Offer (Ire) Gai Waterhouse 54
14 Sky Hunter (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor 54
15 Preferment (NZ) Chris Waller 53.5
16 Grand Marshal (GB) Chris Waller 53.5
17 Quest For More (Ire) Roger Charlton 53.5
18 Amralah (Ire) Robert Hickmott 53.5
19 Kingfisher (Ire) Aidan O'Brien 53
20 Almoonqith (USA) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig 53
21 Prince Of Penzance (NZ) Darren Weir 53
22 Bondi Beach (Ire) Aidan O'Brien 52.5
23 Beaten Up (GB) Chris Waller 52.5
24 Sertorius Jamie Edwards 52.5
25 The United States (Ire) Robert Hickmott 52.5
26 Secret Number (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor 52.5
27 Dandino (GB) Darren Weir 52.5
28 Gust Of Wind (NZ) John Sargent 51
29 Like A Carousel Ken Keys 51
30 Excess Knowledge (GB) Gai Waterhouse 51
31 Pondarosa Miss (NZ) Peter Hollinshead 50.5
32 Chance To Dance (Ire) Robert Hickmott 50.5
33 Thunder Lady (NZ) John Sargent 50
34 Bohemian Lily (NZ) Gai Waterhouse 50
35 Havana Cooler (Ire) John O'Shea 50
36 Ruling Dynasty James Cummings 50
37 De Little Engine Danny O'Brien 50
38 Elhaame (Ire) Saeed Bin Suroor 50
39 Ethiopia Pat Carey 50
40 High Midnight James Cummings 50
41 Thunder Set Vince Jones 50
42 Zanteca (NZ) Darren Weir 50

Mongolian Khan recently suffered a bout of colic
won't take his place in the cup

The Offer has not been penalised for his Bendigo Cup win
Remains at 54kg

Final Field

No. Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight
1 Snow Sky (GB) Sir Michael Stoute Ryan Moore 16 58
2 Criterion (NZ) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig Michael Walker 4 57.5
3 Fame Game (Jpn) Yo********ada Munakata Zac Purton 12 57
4 Our Ivanhowe (Ger) Lee & Anthony Freedman Ben Melham 22 56
5 Big Orange (GB) Michael Bell Jamie Spencer 23 55.5
6 Hartnell (GB) John O'Shea James McDonald 17 55.5
7 Hokko Brave (Jpn) Yasutoshi Matsunaga Craig Williams 20 55.5
8 Max Dynamite (Fr) William Mullins Frankie Dettori 2 55
9 Red Cadeaux (GB) Ed Dunlop Gerald Mosse 8 55
10 Trip To Paris (Ire) Ed Dunlop Tommy Berry 14 55
11 Who Shot Thebarman (NZ) Chris Waller Blake Shinn 6 54.5
12 Sky Hunter (GB) Saeed Bin Suroor William Buick 7 54
13 The Offer (Ire) Gai Waterhouse Damien Oliver 13 54
14 Grand Marshal (GB) Chris Waller Jim Cassidy 15 53.5
15 Preferment (NZ) Chris Waller Hugh Bowman 11 53.5
16 Quest For More (Ire) Roger Charlton Damian Lane 21 53.5
17 Almoonqith (USA) David Hayes & Tom Dabernig Dwayne Dunn 10 53
18 Kingfisher (Ire) Aidan O'Brien Colm O'Donoghue 9 53
19 Prince Of Penzance (NZ) Darren Weir Michelle Payne 1 53
20 Bondi Beach (Ire) Aidan O'Brien Brett Prebble 18 52.5
21 Sertorius Jamie Edwards Craig Newitt 5 52.5
22 The United States (Ire) Robert Hickmott Joao Moreira 3 52.5
23 Excess Knowledge (GB) Gai Waterhouse Kerrin McEvoy 24 51
24 Gust Of Wind (NZ) John Sargent Chad Schofield 19 51

Well I went through my systems for Melb Cup.

They have a 90% strike rate within the selections.

They only came up with 3 selections this year :

The United States
Our Ivanhoe
Hartnell

On top of this I will throw in 2 selections to cover those which the market rates well :

Fame Game
Max Dynamite

Those are the 5 selections if staked to return $100 then :

The United States $5
Our Ivanhoe $4
Hartnell $3

Total : $12 to win $100

but with these:
Fame Game $25
Max Dynamite $8

$45 to win $100.

Interesting stats courtesy racenet:

The trainer: Lee Freedman (5 wins) (Note: He now trains in partnership with his brother Anthony) - Our Ivanhowe (No. 4)

The jockey: Damien Oliver (3 wins) – The Offer (No. 13)

The owner: Lloyd Williams (4 wins) – Kingfisher (No. 18), Bondi Beach (No. 20) and The United States (No. 22)

The saddlecloth: 4 and 12 (11 wins) – Our Ivanhowe (No. 4), Sky Hunter (No. 12)

The barrier: 11 (8 wins) – Preferment (No. 15)

The age and sex: 5YO E&G (41 wins) – Snow Sky (No. 1), Criterion (No. 2), Big Orange (No. 5), Hartnell (No. 6), Trip To Paris (No. 10), Kingfisher (No. 18)

Current odds

1 Snow Sky $51
2 Criterion $17
3 Fame Game $6
4 Our Ivanhowe $22
5 Big Orange $51
6 Hartnell $34
7 Hokko Brave $34
8 Max Dynamite $13
9 Red Cadeaux $26
10 Trip To Paris $8.50
11 Who Shot Thebarman $21
12 Sky Hunter $42
13 The Offer $26
14 Grand Marshal $41
15 Preferment $11
16 Quest For More $81
17 Almoonqith $18
18 Kingfisher $65
19 Prince Of Penzance $85
20 Bondi Beach $34
21 Sertorius $91
22 The United States $26
23 Excess Knowledge $35