Will Incentivise rise to the occasion in the Cup?

Wonderfully - Incentivise is an Australian bred horse - being by Shamus Award, an Australian bred, WS Cox Plate-G1 winning son of Snitzel.

Beginning his stud career at Widden Stud, Widden Valley, Shamus Award was relocated to Rosemount Stud, Gnarwarre in Victoria, and has since improved his stud record to new heights.

Wonderfully, again, second and third to Incentivise in the Caulfield Cup were also Australian bred gallopers and which were by Australian bred sires; second - Nonconformist, a five-year-old by VRC and SAJC Derby-G1 winner Rebel Raider, and third Persan, a five-year-old by Coolmore Stud's Pierro.

Interestingly Rebel Raider is by Reset - a son of multiple champion Australian and New Zealand sire Zabeel, the same line-sire that Persan also belongs, however via Australian Horses Of The Year Lonhro and his sire Octagonal.

Zabeel's champion New Zealand stud son Savabeel - known for his distance stayers, is likely to be represented in the Melbourne Cup via runners including The Chosen One, a six-year-old horse that finished 14th in the Caulfield Cup, but fourth in the Melbourne Cup last year.

Over numerous years, New Zealand bred horses play a part in the Melbourne Cup field, with Tralee Rose a likely starter, following her win in the Bet365 Geelong Cup-G3 (2400 metres) last week. Remember Media Puzzle won the Geelong Cup, before taking the 2002 Melbourne Cup, while Irish bred Bauer went close to the double when a head second to Viewed in 2008.

A five-year-old New Zealand bred mare Tralee Rose is by New Zealand bred Tavistock, a son of known Irish bred staying source and former shuttler Montjeu (by Sadler's Wells).

Tavistock also sired another distance feature winner on the Geelong meet when Tutukaka won the Geelong Classic (2200 metres) a New Zealand bred three-year-old gelding that should be followed for next year's Cup.

Another Australian bred galloper to consider is six-year-old Lunar Flare, which is a daughter of 2013 Melbourne Cup winner Fiorente. Consistently running well in distance events, the mare won the Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500 metres) last Saturday.

As in modern times though, northern hemisphere bred horses will play their part. These include the GB bred Grand Promenade, a six-year-old gelding which booked his berth in the Melbourne Cup when outstaying his rivals to win the VRC The Lexus Bart Cummings (2520 metres) at Flemington early this month.

Trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace at Caulfield, Grand Promenade is by Champs Elysees, one of the fewer Danehill sire sons which are better known as a sire of stayers.

This is also demonstrated via another GB imported Champs Elysees son Selino, which finished 15 of 18 in Incentivise's Caulfield Cup, but won the two-mile Sydney Cup-G1 in April this year.

Which horse will you chose in this year's Melbourne Cup?

FOLLOWING a battle with cancer, Alan Scorse - a former popular and successful jockey and trainer from his long-time home at Newcastle, passed away at age 69 last month.

Beginning his riding career in Sydney, Scorse was apprenticed to Hall Of Fame conditioner Harry Plant before later transferring to Ray Guy. Following his apprenticeship, he moved to Newcastle where he established a successful riding career notching over 1250 winners including two Group 1 victories - aboard Manawapoi in the 1976 Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane, and the 1993 William Reid Stakes on Spanish Mix in Melbourne.

A training career followed, Scorse preparing over 260 winners including wonderful galloper Plain Crazy, with another memorable city winner Sir Covet. Scorse was inducted into the Newcastle and Hunter region's Racing Hall Of Fame earlier this year.

Only three months ago, Scorse's wife Sharon died (also of cancer), and who was a daughter of Newcastle Hall Of Fame trainer Roy Hinton.