Far Cry, ante-post favourite for the Melbourne Cup, left for Australia yesterday morning.
Martin Pipe`s stayer has finished second in the Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup on his two starts this season to earn a quote of 8 to 1 from William Hill and 10 to 1 from local layer Michael Eskander for the November 7th contest.
'I saw him loaded last night,' Pipe said. 'He was collected at 11 o`clock. He came from his quarantine box and was loaded onto the lorry.
'He flew off at about seven o`clock this morning. He loaded OK and everything was fine - it`s a great adventure.'
Far Cry will be sharpened up by the use of some headgear when he lines up for the Flemington race.
Pipe went on: 'He`ll wear blinkers or a visor, probably a visor. Just to make him concentrate a bit more.
'We saw some videos of racing in Australia last night - it is very, very tough but it is exciting to go.'
Melbourne Cup betting: William Hill: 8-1 Far Cry, 10-1 Mont Rocher, 12-1Arctic Owl, Coco Cabana, Freemason, Oxford Dollar, 14-1 Bohemiath, 16-1 bar.
Michael Eskander betting: 10-1 Far Cry, 121 Arctic Owl, Freemason, Mont Rocher, Oxford Dollar, 14-1 Citra`s Prince, 16-1 Bohemiath, Coco Cobanna, Enzeli, 20-1 bar.
