Timeform Review of the Melbourne Cup with Adam Blencowe

Horses to note from a Ratings Perspective

The 2015 Melbourne Cup was a race that stopped a nation, for a little longer than it perhaps should have.

Plenty of great stories have come out of this year's Melbourne Cup but we'll stick to the one told in the form book.

In Timeform 's form book Prince Of Penzance now carries a rating of 119, 2lbs up from his previous peak of 117 achieved just ten days earlier when second in the Moonee Valley Cup.

A rating of 119 is the lowest winning rating in the Cup since Shocking in 2009 who ran to the same mark.

The 2015 Melbourne Cup was a stronger edition than the one that Shocking won in 2009, but the tempo - or lack thereof - made for a messy race and took several leading contenders out of play.

Racing And Sports' field strength figure (RSFS) for the race was 121.7. In 2009 it was 119.1. In the five years bridging that pair the figure has been between 122.5 and 125.2 - the high being the 2010 renewal won by Americain.

In 2015 the world's most famous handicap was won by a handicapper; a genuine 100-1 chance who's one just happened to come up.

The way that the track played on the first two days of the Cup Carnival has been well documented and needs no further discussion here. The other key variable that brought about such a messy Melbourne Cup was the tempo.

They say that 'pace makes the race' but in 2015 it was lacking. On a genuine good track - it was certainly good to firm ground close to the rail - the time of 3:23.15 was light on for horses of this calibre - and by some way.

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