Racing: Coolmore have firmed up riding plans for their Melbourne Cup trio with Johnny Murtagh, Wayne Lordan and Colm O'Donoghue all set to ride in the famous race. Murtagh will take the mount on Septimus with O'Donoghue on Honolulu and Lordan on Alessandro Volta.
"I think what Aidan (O'Brien) is planning at the moment is for Johnny to ride Septimus and the plan is bring Colm O'Donoghue to ride Honolulu. Colm rode for the (Lee) Freedman camp a couple of years ago and he knows the place," Tom Magnier, racing manager for Coolmore's Australian operation, told At The Races.
"Wayne Lordan, I think, will ride Alessandro Volta because of the light weight, he's a good pilot."
Magnier sees it as a positive the European raiders All The Good and Mad Rush ran such good races in the Caulfield Cup on Saturday.
"It's obvious that Mad Rush ran very well along with the other horses and that proves that they've travelled well so we just have to hope that ours have," he went on.
"I think Aidan was blown away by the whole experience last year and he took it all in. It will be up to him how he does it all when he gets here, I'll just sit back and watch.
"I think if you don't get excited by big winners you are in the wrong game and I know Dad (John Magnier) gets very excited by the Melbourne Cup, he gets a great kick out of it and he's coming down this year so it will be great for him to experience it first hand."