Vauban’s big aim is a return to Australia for the Melbourne Cup but Willie Mullins has not definitively ruled out an appearance at the Punchestown Festival.

The Rich and Susannah Ricci-owned six-year-old has not been seen since finishing only 14th of 23 when sent off favourite for last year’s Melbourne Cup.

He has not run over hurdles since chasing home stable companion and current champion hurdler State Man at last season’s Punchestown Festival, after which his attentions were switched to the Flat.

He won the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, beating another stablemate in Absurde, who won the County Hurdle last week, and then had little trouble in winning the Group Three Ballyroan Stakes before his trip to Australia.

“Yes (he’s likely to have a Flat campaign), I think that’s more or less the plan,” said Mullins.

“He might get a run in Punchestown if he’s ready but I think I’m going to concentrate on getting him back to Melbourne in ship shape and have another crack at the Melbourne Cup in November.”

Willie Mullins was not ruling out a future bid for Lexus Melbourne Cup glory after watching his favourite Vauban disappoint in the Flemington highlight.

The Irish handler rated Vauban and stablemate Absurde as his best ever chance in the two-mile contest, but while the latter horse performed with credit in seventh, Vauban trailed home 14th in the hands of Ryan Moore.

The five-year-old, who is a multiple Grade One winner over hurdles, carried plenty of confidence into the race having registered a wide-margin win over Absurde at Royal Ascot before following up in a Group Three at Naas in August.

Ryan Moore appeared to have a good position on Vauban but he faded in the straight to be beaten over 13 lengths by winner Without A Fight.

“I thought Vauban was a little disappointing all round. He was beaten too far out for my liking,” Mullins told www.racing.com.

“When I saw him six furlongs out with Ryan having to give him a little niggle, I thought, ‘that’s too far out for him to be niggling him’. He just flattened out and ran very disappointing.

“But there we are. That’s the nature of this game.”

Moore said: “Obviously a disappointing run from him. Maybe he didn’t fire today, the winner was very good, and we didn’t get home today unfortunately.”

Ebor winner Absurde was well supported before the start and posted a fine effort for jockey Zac Purton, hitting the front with two furlongs to run before fading in the closing stages.

Mullins said “I thought Absurde ran a cracker. He was in a position to win at one stage coming up the straight but didn’t see it out.”

Purton added: “He travelled nicely, he presented at the right time, he just didn’t run through the line. Anyway, he ran well, but not what we wanted.”

Vauban has not won over hurdles since the 2022 Punchestown Festival but placed three times at the highest level last term, while Absurde has won one of his two runs over obstacles and Mullins will take stock before deciding on a return to the National Hunt sphere.

He said: “We will bring them back, see how they are. They are dual-purpose horses. If either of them had won they wouldn’t have jumped a hurdle again.”

Mullins has won virtually every major prize in jumps racing but his multiple Australian raids have ended in disappointment, with Max Dynamite his best performer having finished second in 2015 and third in 2017 in the colours of Vauban’s owners Susannah and Rich Ricci.

Despite leaving empty handed again, Mullins would be eager to run if the right candidate comes along.

“It’s a great prize, it’s a great day, great occasion,” he said.

“If we get one good enough, we will try again.”

Without A Fight stormed home to complete a big-race double in the Lexus Melbourne Cup at Flemington.

The Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained runner won the Caulfield Cup on his previous run and followed up in style under Mark Zahra in the two-mile Group One.

Previously trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, Without A Fight finished 13th in the Melbourne Cup last year, but 12 months on, he was a clear-cut victor.

Melbourne Cup favourite Vauban posted an impressive workout as he enjoyed a first look at Flemington.

Willie Mullins’ charge heads the market for next Tuesday’s feature after recording a seven-and-a-half-length win in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot in June before booking his ticket to Australia with a cosy victory in the Ballyroan Stakes in August.

A three-times Grade One winner over hurdles, Vauban worked in company with stablemate and fellow Cup contender Absurde at Flemington, pulling away from the Ebor victor in comfortable fashion.

Mullins’ assistant David Casey has been overseeing the pair’s preparations for the Group One handicap and he is more than satisfied with Vauban heading into the two-mile race.

“Everything seems good, we’re having a ball,” Casey told www.racing.com.

“The horse has been very relaxed, taken it all in, done everything we’ve asked, great to get a morning like this morning to come to Flemington and see something different.

“It’s all just a good experience for him for race day.”

Vauban is a best-priced 3-1 with bet365, with Absurde a general 14-1 chance for the Melbourne Cup.

Frankie Dettori is eager for a new challenge after reversing his retirement plan to continue his career in America.

Last December Dettori stated he would bow out at the end of this year, but on Thursday he announced he was in fact no longer prepared to call time on his illustrious career.

While he had already indicated his intention to ride at the Melbourne Cup meeting, the Breeders’ Cup in November and Hong Kong in December, he was then expected to retire.

However, as the months wore on and Dettori continued to fire in the big winners, which this year have included the 2000 Guineas, the Gold Cup at Ascot and the Juddmonte International and Ebor at York, rumours began to circulate that he was maybe not prepared to depart the weighing room after all.

With his children all now self sufficient, Dettori and wife Catherine placed their Newmarket home on the rental market and announced they would be travelling the world.

Instead, they are moving to California, where he spent a successful few months last winter, finishing second in the jockey standings at Santa Anita.

Dettori revealed the news at an event to promote his last appearance at British Champions Day.

“I am simply not ready to retire completely. I’m still enjoying riding and want to carry on for a while on the international circuit,” said Dettori.

“I have had the most amazing career (based in the UK), and head to British Champions Day (October 21) with some brilliant rides. This will mark my final day riding in Britain, after which I will head to America for the Breeders’ Cup and then Melbourne for the Carnival.

“The current plan is to return to ride at Santa Anita in the States at the end of the year. How long I continue race riding overseas and where my American journey takes me, no one can predict but I welcome the challenge in this new chapter.”

Not even Dettori himself could have forecast how successful his final full season in the UK would have been.

It began with his 2000 Guineas strike on Chaldean and another Classic quickly followed on Soul Sister in the Oaks at Epsom.

While a third Derby victory eluded him, he did win the Coronation Cup on Emily Upjohn and enjoyed what was thought to be his final Royal Ascot, highlighted by Courage Mon Ami in the Gold Cup.

The rumours of a possible extension to his career really picked up pace at York’s Ebor meeting in August, however, when he stepped in for a suspended Jim Crowley on Mostahdaf and produced an excellent front-running ride before adding the Ebor for good measure on Willie Mullins’ Absurde.

Then last week he added another Group One in the Sun Chariot on Inspiral, fittingly his 500th winner at Newmarket.

“When I announced my retirement, I thought it was a matter of saying my goodbyes and slowly easing my way out of the sport through the back door but it has been success after success (this year),” he told Sky Sports Racing.

“It started off in America, which I really enjoyed, then the Guineas, Royal Ascot, York, France and it got to a point that my emotions were out of control and I thought I wasn’t ready to stop.

“I spoke to my family and they all said to do what makes me happy because I have to live with myself.

“Obviously I’d told everyone I was retiring at Ascot in October, that will be the case in Europe but because I enjoyed California so much last year – and it was an easier decision because my wife agreed – I’ll extend my career in the USA.”

He went on: “The decision was made easier because my kids have all left home, we’ve rented the house out and it has been in my mind for a few weeks but I wanted to make sure it was all in order.

“I applied for a visa and I’ve got one, so now I could announce it.

“It will still be sad for me on Saturday week, I will say goodbye to my fans and my beloved Ascot and a country that has been my life for 38 years but I have something more to look forward to.

“It could be three months or three years, I don’t know. It depends how well I do and depends on my body, I just felt I wasn’t ready to stop.

“The reason was because of the success I’ve had this year, it was very hard to let go.

“It’s a new challenge. I’ve achieved everything I wanted to achieve in Europe but I’d love to find a horse for the Kentucky Derby.”

Zac Purton has been booked to ride the Willie Mullins-trained Absurde in next month’s Lexus Melbourne Cup.

Purton, who is a six-times champion jockey in Hong Kong, will team up with the Ebor winner in the Flemington feature on November 7 after Frankie Dettori rode the five-year-old to victory at York.

Absurde is set to carry 8st 5lb in the big race which is too low for Dettori to maintain the partnership, so Purton is delighted to renew an old association with Mullins, having ridden Max Dynamite to finish third for the handler in the 2017 Melbourne Cup.

“I think he’s just a wizard as a trainer, he’s a very, very intelligent guy when it comes to training horses,” Purton told www.racing.com.

“You can even see with the Melbourne Cup, the horses he picks to take down for the race, how he strategically places them in the lead-up races to try and beat the handicapper.

“He just knows exactly what he’s doing and I’d always said to my manager that he’s a trainer that I think one day is going to win the Melbourne Cup and hopefully we can be a part of it.”

Purton has ridden Group One victors in his native Australia as well as Japan, Britain and Singapore but admits the Melbourne Cup is a tough race in which to have a winning opportunity.

He added: “Unfortunately, it’s been hard to get the right rides in it because the Europeans generally take their own jockeys, the Japanese like to take their own jockeys and the rides in Australia are sewn up by the jockeys that have the connections with the owners and trainers down there.

“From the position I’m in, it’s just really hard to get that right horse and I’ve got an opportunity again, so hopefully I can make the most of it. I’ve had an amazing career, I’ve ridden a lot of great horses, won a lot of big races but this is the one that is left that I’d love to win now.”

Melbourne Cup favourite Vauban arrived in Australia over the weekend and has settled into his new surroundings at the Werribee quarantine centre.

Trained by Willie Mullins, who is also running the Ebor winner Absurde in Australia’s greatest race, Vauban has headed the market since his sparkling win in the Copper Horse Handicap, in which Absurde was second.

Since then Vauban, a three-time Grade One winner over hurdles, has won the Group Three Ballyroan Stakes in smooth style.

“Touch wood, he seems fine,” Mullins’ assistant David Casey, who has travelled to Australia, told www.racing.com.

“He travelled well, it seems he’s eating and drinking since he came and arrived. He didn’t lose a lot of weight and he’s put it all actually back on since he came. Delighted with him.

“(He) had a little hack this morning, nothing strenuous – so, so far so good.

“I went over and rode him last Tuesday before he left, gave him a nice bit of work and was very happy with him.”

Some European challengers often take in a warm up race but with both Vauban and Absurde confirmed of a place in the Melbourne Cup already, Casey feels there is no need to go down that road.

“I imagine it will be straight in, it’s looking that way,” Casey said.

“I imagine the next couple of weeks will be pretty quiet for him and then we’ll start building him up closer to the race.

“It was great that he won at Ascot and backed it up when he won in Naas – we’re here and we’re delighted to be taking part and obviously hopefully with a horse that can be competitive.

“We will be thrilled if we can be competitive in the race.

“55kg for Vauban is kind of what we expected – we kind of thought somewhere between 54.5 and 55.5.”

Casey, though, would prefer a bit of rain before the big day.

“They’re big, strong horses, both of them – maybe ground-wise, it might be a little bit of a disadvantage, because they might just hit it a little bit harder,” he said.

“I haven’t seen it this warm this early before out here. If there’s a drop of rain around, I won’t mind too much.

“I could do with it in five weeks’ time maybe!

“I think Absurde will probably handle it quicker – Vauban has run and he won on very quick ground in Ascot, which wasn’t an issue – but you’d just prefer not to be running on it every day, you know, when he is big and strong.”

Hopes of seeing a royal runner in this year’s Melbourne Cup are over after connections of Desert Hero confirmed he will not be making the trip to Australia.

The Sea The Stars colt brought the house down when providing the newly-crowned King and Queen with their first taste of Royal Ascot success in the King George V Stakes in June, while a subsequent victory in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood earned him a shot at Classic glory in the St Leger.

The King and Queen made the trip to Doncaster to see the William Haggas-trained three-year-old in action and while he came up short, he was far from disgraced in finishing third behind Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous and Haggas left the door ajar for a possible tilt at ‘the race that stops a nation’ on the first Tuesday in November.

However, while Desert Hero was put through and passed the veterinary checks that would allow him to board the plane, his team have ultimately decided a journey to Australia is not in the youngster’s best interest at this stage of his career.

John Warren, racing adviser to the King and Queen, told the PA news agency: “After giving it plenty of thought we have decided that Desert Hero won’t head to the Melbourne Cup this year.

“It is obviously a world-class race and it was very tempting, but he is still a young horse and we will give him more time to mature.

“He will now have a good break and William will work out a plan for next year.”

Giavellotto will head to Qipco Champions Day or be put away until next season after connections shelved the idea of having a tilt at this year’s Melbourne Cup.

A narrow winner of the Yorkshire Cup in the spring, Marco Botti’s stable star has since finished fifth in the Goodwood Cup and third in the Lonsdale Cup back at York last month.

Given Giavellotto’s preference for a sound surface, a trip to Australia appeared an attractive proposition – but with the stringent veterinary checks required to contest the Flemington showpiece seemingly a factor, he will not contest the ‘race that stops a nation’ in early November.

“He’s in good form and has come out of the race at York in fine shape, but we’re not going to Australia,” said Botti.

“There were a few niggling problems and it’s not going to happen this year unfortunately. He’s fine, but there were concerns we might get him there and he wouldn’t be able to run or whatever, so we just decided bypass it for this year.

“Hopefully next year if we still have him and everything is going well then we can think about it as the Melbourne Cup is a race the owners would love to go for, and the race and the track would suit him as he seems to go on left-handed tracks.”

With the Melbourne Cup ruled out, the only viable option left for Giavellotto this season is the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup on October 21, but the prospect of demanding conditions at Ascot is an obvious concern.

“We’ll keep an eye on the weather as he will only go to Ascot if the ground is not too soft. Good to soft is fine, but he wouldn’t want to run on anything softer than that,” Botti added.

“If he doesn’t go to Ascot we’ll just put him away for the winter.

“We haven’t discussed plans for next year with the owners yet. I wouldn’t rule out going back to Dubai World Cup night for the Gold Cup, but let’s see how he winters and how he is after a nice break.”

Ante-post favourite Vauban has been given a weight of 55 kilograms for the Lexus Melbourne Cup.

Willie Mullins’ charge, who won the 2022 Triumph Hurdle, heads the market for the November 7 contest after winning each of his two starts on the level this term – chalking up a seven-and-a-half-length verdict in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot before landing the Group Three Ballyroan Stakes in fine style last time.

The five-year-old’s weight, which equates to around 8st 9lb, has him 3.5kg behind last year’s winner and top weight Gold Trip.

Mullins has a second string to his bow in Absurde, who is guaranteed a start in the Group One contest after winning the Ebor under a fine Frankie Dettori ride at York last month.

He finished second to Vauban at Ascot and has been given 53kg for the Flemington showpiece, while Aidan O’Brien’s Broome, winner of the Dubai Gold Cup back in March, has 56.5kg.

O’Brien also has St Leger fourth Tower Of London on 50.5kg, with son Joseph – already a dual winner of the race with Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020) – having Valiant King (50kg) and Okita Soushi (51.5kg) in the field.

The William Haggas-trained Desert King, who finished a gallant third for the King and Queen in Saturday’s St Leger, has been given 51.5kg.

Fellow Newmarket-trained runner West Wind Blows is on 54kg for Simon and Ed Crisford, with the four-year-old already in Australia ahead of a possible run in the Turnbull Stakes on October 7.

Dermot Weld, who broke new ground when sending Vintage Crop to become the first northern hemisphere-trained winner of the race in 1993 before adding another victory nine years later with Media Puzzle, has Harbour Wind in contention this year but his weight of 50kg leaves him well down the field, which has a limit of 24 runners.

Other familiar names in the field include ex-Haggas runners Alenquer (56.5kg) and Soulcombe (53.5kg), last year’s second Emissary (52kg) plus Francesco Guardi (54kg) and El Bodegon (55.5kg), who were both previously trained by James Ferguson, and last year’s Irish Oaks victor Magical Lagoon (51kg).

Racing Victoria’s head of handicapping David Hegan said: “Gold Trip is the standout performer among the entries for both Cups (Melbourne and Caulfield) and the natural topweight with Broome the only Group One winner among an international contingent that boasts an assortment of rapidly emerging stayers.

“We have effectively lifted Gold Trip 2kg from his true weight last year, which is less than the penalty afforded other Melbourne Cup winners in recent times, however we are mindful that it is 48 years since a horse has carried 58.5kg to victory in either Cup so a significant challenge awaits.”

Marco Botti has expressed his pride in Giavellotto’s brave run in defeat at York, with connections now mulling over a possible tilt at the Melbourne Cup later in the year.

The Yorkshire Cup champion was returning to the scene of his finest hour when lining-up in the Lonsdale Cup and lost little in defeat as he fought out the finish with the Ascot Gold Cup first and second, Courage Mon Ami and Coltrane.

It was Andrew Balding’s consistent performer who came out on top on the Knavesmire, with Botti’s four-year-old giving way to the stronger stayers late in the day as he finished two lengths adrift in third.

However, the Newmarket-based handler was far from despondent as his long distance star showed his qualities once again.

Botti said: “It was a good run and he was beaten by two proper stayers who finished first and second in the Gold Cup. They are the best stayers around and maybe they just outstayed him.

“I always thought one-mile-six would be Giavellotto’s optimum trip. He gets the two miles but when he runs against the proper stayers, maybe the final furlong gets a bit hard work.

“It was no disgrace to finish third behind two proper stayers and he is a horse who has been consistent and tries his best all the time. For sure he handles York quite well.”

Giavellotto holds entries in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger (Curragh, September 10) and the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on British Champions Day (October 21).

However, Botti is hoping to get the go-ahead from owner Francesca Franchini of Scuderia La Tesa Limited to travel to Australia for the ‘race that stops a nation’ at Flemington on November 7.

“He’s a horse who wouldn’t want the ground too soft. He is in the Irish St Leger, but we thought by then you don’t know what the ground will be,” explained Botti.

“We are still discussing about the Melbourne Cup and I’m pretty sure we will enter him and then finalise the plans. Otherwise in England it will just be Champions Day as the only goal left for him.”

He went on: “I would be in favour (of going for the Melbourne Cup). The fact he went to Dubai and is a horse who travels well and I also think the track will suit him – it is similar to York, a left-handed track.

“I think he will get in. He won a Group Two so he should make the cut for the Melbourne Cup, but then it is up to the owners as it is quite an expensive trip to take on and as we know the rules are quite strict before the race. The vetting can be tricky but he is a sound horse.

“If we take that route, hopefully all goes to plan, and I would be in favour if the owner wanted to go.”

If a trip to the Southern Hemisphere doesn’t come to fruition, Botti hopes to explore other options overseas for Giavellotto during his five-year-old campaign as he envisages his stable star improving further with experience.

“He’s a nice horse to still have in the yard and we have been able to win a Group Two this year,” he added.

“He’s a nice horse to have and maybe campaign abroad next year, whether that be Dubai or Saudi Arabia. We’re not planning too far ahead but he’s definitely a horse who has scope to get even better.”

York’s chief executive and clerk of the course William Derby hailed news that the Sky Bet Ebor winner will be handed a “golden ticket” into the Melbourne Cup field as “fantastic”.

The arrangement was announced on Thursday with the Ebor, won by the Frankie Dettori-ridden Trawlerman last year, becoming the seventh win-and-you’re-in race for the £4.4m event in November.

The Ebor, worth £500,000 itself, is the first international race to provide automatic entry into the Australian showpiece event, which has drawn the interest of plenty of European-based trainers over the years.

Dermot Weld was the first to taste success in 1993 with the legendary Vintage Crop and he repeated the feat with Media Puzzle in 2002.

Alain de Royer-Dupre and Mikel Delzangles then provided France with back-to-back wins with Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011), while Andreas Wohler struck gold for Germany in 2014 when Protectionist was ridden to victory by Ryan Moore.

More recently Joseph O’Brien twice (Rekindling 2017 and Twilight Payment 2020) and Charlie Appleby’s Cross Counter (2018) have improved the overseas raiders’ record.

The Cup itself will be in York during the Ebor meeting with the feature race taking place on August 28.

“It is fantastic to officially connect two iconic races in the Sky Bet Ebor and the Lexus Melbourne Cup with the introduction of a golden ticket for the Ebor winner into the race that stops a nation and indeed much of the world,” said Derby.

“With the York winner having finished in the top 10 at Flemington in three of the four years preceding the pandemic, this great news will give confidence to winning connections that that their start at Flemington is secure, further linking two great races.

“We look forward to welcoming the 2023 Lexus Melbourne Cup on all four days of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival (23-26 August) on its annual tour across the world. This makes us more hopeful that it can return to Britain after the first Tuesday in November.”

Victoria Racing Club chief executive Steve Rosich said the alignment with York was a natural progression.

“The Ebor handicap has been a proven pathway into the Melbourne Cup over the years and it is fantastic to be able to build on the association with Flemington and York racecourse,” he said.

“The introduction of a seventh golden ticket is exciting for both clubs and the connections of all potential Ebor runners. It further cements the Lexus Melbourne Cup’s international reach and appeal.”

Frankie Dettori will extend his farewell tour to encompass the Melbourne Cup Carnival in November.

The rider will retire at the end of the year and after a fine Royal Ascot meeting that saw him win four races including the Gold Cup, Dettori has confirmed his intention to compete at Flemington in the autumn.

On what will be the 30th anniversary of his Melbourne Cup debut aboard Drum Taps, Dettori plans to be in action at Flemington on Lexus Melbourne Cup Day (November 7), Kennedy Oaks day (November 9) and TAB Champions Stakes day (November 11).

Dettori has come close to Melbourne Cup glory in the past, finishing second aboard Central Park in 1999 and Max Dynamite in 2015, with Master Of Reality coming home second in 2019 before being demoted to fourth.

He said: “I have achieved all there is to achieve in horse racing and have had a fantastic career, but the Melbourne Cup has always been one race that I would love to win.

“I am looking forward to returning to Melbourne to ride at the carnival for one final time and hopefully I can finish my career with a Melbourne Cup win.”

Victoria Racing Club (VRC) chief executive officer Steve Rosich is delighted Dettori will make one last trip to Australia for the spring racing highlight.

“Frankie Dettori is one of the best jockeys and personalities the sport has ever seen and the VRC look forward to giving him a fitting farewell at Flemington at the Melbourne Cup Carnival,” Rosich said.

“The Melbourne Cup is a race that jockeys across Australia and the world want to win, and this year will be no different. Preparations for this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival are well underway and racegoers can look forward to another week of world-class racing, hospitality and entertainment.”