Some of Australia's most astute form analysts believe that the Queen Elizabeth-owned Dartmouth could become the outright favourite for the $6 million Melbourne Cup if the horse makes the trip this spring.
Senior Victorian racing officials are confident that the Queen's stayer will be here for the Cup and is a realistic chance.
Fairfax Media spoke to a number of form analysts across Australia and they agreed that after the horse's performance in finishing third in Saturday's King George Stakes at Ascot in England, he was "an emerging cup favourite".
"He will be fairly weighted, he is a true stayer, he is a winner at weight-for-age and on Saturday night he showed that he was desperately looking for the Melbourne Cup distance of 3200m," one analyst said. "He's the ideal horse that you want in the Cup. He's got loads of stamina but yet a touch of brilliance that sets you apart from the others.
"It's a handicap race, it's a rarity to have a handicap worth this much money over this trip and he's going to come into the event so well."
Last year's Cox Plate placegetter Highland Reel won the King George Stakes.
Talks have already begun with Dartmouth's trainer Sir Michael Stoute and the Queen's racing manager John Warren.
"It's amazing since the horse raced on Saturday night a lot of people here in Australia have become very excited about the possible appearance of Dartmouth," Australian talent scout Leigh Jordon said. "The very good judges maintain he ticks all the boxes so it would be fabulous to have him here.
"Sir Michael Stoute has been here before and he knows what sort of stayer you need. He looks the ideal type. His third overnight was ironically behind Highland Reel who was once again invited to the Cox Plate after his excellent performance last year.
"The King George Stakes is always a good form barometer for horses coming to Australia from Europe. We are pretty excited this year, it looks like we could get another great batch of horses making the trip. And I think to have the Queen represented would be another plus for the Melbourne Cup," Jordon said.
Jordon only returned late last week from Europe where he had talks with a number of trainers and owners who were thinking of making the trip to Australia this year.
"It seems that the willingness to come to Australia is still very much there. They know it's excellent prizemoney and they also know that there are races outside of the Melbourne Cup that have significant international influence in breeding," he said. "The VRC have wisely, I think, changed the Mackinnon Stakes."
The VRC, with the assistance of Racing Victoria, has moved the Mackinnon Stakes to the final day and renamed it the Emirates Stakes. It will enjoy a 100 per cent increase in prizemoney to $2 million.
Jordon said the lift in prizemoney is an excellent move and positions the race perfectly for international horses coming to Australia for the Cox Plate as they will now have a two-week gap until the Emirates which gives them significant time to recover.
