2009 MELBOURNE CUP BETTING TIPS

So? Who's up for an early morning? One of the biggest races in the entire southern hemisphere kicks off early in the am as the running of the Melbourne Cup takes place at Flemington. It's been a fascinating build-up to this race with one of the highest-profile imports, Changingoftheguard, now having a number of question marks over top based on the possibility of a hoof abscess. The David Hayes-trained 3 year-old is now listed at around 20/1 for the victory. One of the runners attracting the most attention has been the JB Cummings-trained Viewed- a gorgeous-looking 6 year-old with a real winners' attitude who is looking for his second Melbourne Cup in as many years. Viewed's most recent victory came in mid-October at Caulfield in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup against a field of 18 entrants. I think that's a great reference and £2.5 million in lifetime earnings belies confidence as well. This is a justifiable front-runner with every chance of winning this race. I think there are only a few horses that can stand in Viewed's way in this handicap and one of them is Alcopop- an up-and-coming bay gelding owned and trained by Jake Stephens. Alcopop won the Group 2 Herbert Power Stakes at Caulfield over a difficult group of 16 that included Shocking. I think at 9/2, you can see the confidence of the punters and it would make for an excellent story. With four from his last four, this is clearly the form horse. My value play is Munsef, a six year-old bay gelding out of Mazaya by Zafonic. The Ian Williams-owned charge comes into the race with an incredible 1-2-1-1-2 record since June and this is truly a horse that knows how to win against large fields. The step up in quality here may prove too much of a complication, but the 33/1 odds that Munsef is currently trading at give me more than enough reason to have a bash here. The horse is also well-priced on a place as well. Saeed Bun Suroor's Crime Scene is one of the European raiders coming down for this one and the 25/1 price tells you all that you need to know. Godolphin-owned horses ooze quality, but you have to go back to July for this runner's last victory- a listed race against a field of 8 that included Covert Ambition. I think this race might just be a bit beuond Crime Scene, but if you like having a bash on a Godolphin-owned runner (and I count myself in that boat) it may be worth the money to you. I'm backing an each-way forecast with Alcopop and Viewed and I will also be backing Munsef each-way.