December Draw Headlines Caulfield Cup

While the Melbourne Cup is drawing tantalizingly closer for Aussie racing fans, the Caulfield Cup is almost upon us and this should punters appetites whetted for the most exciting period of racing in Oceania.

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The Caulfield runs on Saturday and the betting favourite heading into this one is the Irish-bred December Draw. Previously raced on the all-weather circuit at Wolverhampton, Kempton and Lingfield (his debut came at Great Leighs); the five-year-old son of Medecis left Britain in mid-June and has since run twice in Australia with scores at Flemington and Caulfield.

He had been laid up for nearly a year and jumped back onto the track to capture a Group 3 contest on debut. He then followed that up with a score in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes last week. It's an impressive example of a horse coming good with a, albeit radical, shift in racing location.

As it currently stands, the Mark Kavanagh-trained gelding is listed as the significant favourite for the Caulfield Cup at a 6/4 price tag with most major bookmakers.

German-bred Lucas Cranach is one of the key challengers ahead of this one and he ships in from Hoppegarten after finishing a disappointing fifth in a Group 1. He is a Group 2 winner at Hamburg and

also captured a listed race at Lyon Parilly. You'll find him listed around 5/1.

One to keep your eye on, considering the fantastic season his sire is having, is At First Sight. He's another horse from the home nations that has found his way to Australia despite a bit less success than

December Draw. The son of Galileo finished second to December Draw in his last outing and will be looking for revenge here in what would be the biggest win in his career. Things may have gone a lot differently for him if he hadn't run into Workforce in the Derby back in 2010. Look for him at a 6/1 margin.