Frankie Dettori, the partner of Arabian Story, was due to fly in early today and will later join a parade in open-top cars.It is not only living legends that come out to play for these processions, but also the dead. On occasions the stuffed carcass of Phar Lap, Australia’s Red Rum, is liberated from the city’s National Museum to gaze glassily at the crowds down Bourke Street.Phar Lap was the big, ugly gelding who became such a favourite for the 1930 Melbourne Cup that a marksman operating for the bookmakers tried to shoot him after exercise at Flemington. Phar Lap was taken to a safe stable and appeared just before the off. Harbour Dues got 17, but then his trainer is a lesser figure in the aristocratic pyramid, Lady Herries.Thunderstorms curled around Flemington on Friday evening, but the weather improved for the following Derby day. About 65,000 appreciated the improving climate that afternoon and a crowd of close to 100,000 is expected tomorrow. It is some consolation for the beastly way the monarch has been treated elsewhere in the Commonwealth of late. After years of hubris, Britain’s racing folk have learned to temper their expectations when it comes to far-flung forays.Arabian Story and Harbour Dues form the British representation at Flemington and there is particular interest in the former as he is owned by the Queen.

The grey horse has drawn barrier number nine of the 22 runners for the big race, which is considered ideal. This timing is at least good news for British postmen, for as the snap snaps they can watch the contest live over their breakfast at 4.20am on Tuesday’s Sky News.Unlike us, the United States and Australia have stars on their national flags and they are also likely to provide the twinkling elements on the race track. The “race that stops a nation” will punctuate the energetic parties across Australia tomorrow afternoon local time. Those, however, persuaded to wait at British arrival gates for heroes returning with great foreign gifts had better prepare the volume of provisions with which Marco Polo used to stuff his knapsacks.
The cavalcade for Breeders’ Cup XIV, which will be staged in Los Angeles on Saturday, is only just forming, but the 137th Melbourne Cup is almost upon us. They say the Melbourne Cup is below standard this year, and the Breeders’ Cup races in the United States will not take much winning either. The Queen’s runner has been blessed with a favourable draw for tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup. But in the race itself he may well finish behind Britain’s other challenger, writes Richard Edmondson.

Bookmakers are likely to be offering cramped odds on Kieren Fallon’s six booked mounts at Nottingham today following the Irishman’s 88-1 treble at Newmarket on Saturday. The champion jockey-elect partnered Pontoon, Samara and Consort to reach 199 winners for the season. Fallon then travelled on to Wolverhampton where he soon made it 200.
Punters overhearing Fallon’s remarks before leaving Newmarket could have had a profitable evening. He expressed confidence that he would reach the 200-mark on one of his evening rides, saying: “I will probably get it tonight – I have a steering job.”Asked by pressmen to reveal the horse’s name, Fallon, responded: “I can’t say what it is – the trainer will kill me!”But some will have guessed that the ‘’steering job” would be Filial who, whether fancied or not, certainly obliged at 5-2 for the Jeff Pearce stable in the second race.Jamie Osborne’s trip to Navan yesterday paid off when Macnamarasband won at 7-2, giving Osborne’s pal Eddie Hales, a former assistant of Kim Bailey, with his first success since setting up as a trainer in Waterford two months ago.. McGee was called for a charge on Havrilla and the irate Eagles bench players spilled onto the court to earn a technical foul plus possession for the Riders.Boone scored the frees and the next basket as well, and with the impressive Ford quickly adding another Newcastle shipped six points in under 30 seconds to effectively lose the game..

But in the second period their jeers had a harder edge after McGee clashed mid-court with Geno Ford.Leicester made all the major plays, hitting 10 from 15 three pointers with Gene Waldron and JaRon Boone scoring four each. Inside, only the under-used Carl Miller stood up to the massive presence of Leicester’s Billy Singleton and James Havrilla.Still, Newcastle recovered from 15 points down to trail 74-68 until McGee and the bench blew their chance. Donewald said: “Leon’s frustrated with this crew but he’s a great player and he’ll pull through.”Donewald, half jokingly, implored the home fans to boo McGee and they responded, half-heartedly, for the first half. There were lightning strikes when we were out on the third green and we sheltering under umbrellas for 20 minutes before they got us in My wife has just had a baby and I was thinking about him. I didn’t want to die before, but you change when you have new responsibilities.”What are we doing, sending people out in a potentially dangerous situation? It’s not the rain, or that I wanted to get home tonight.