Melbourne Cup fancies and eyecatchers over the jumps from our panel of experts

Who would fare best in a Gold Cup: Outlander, Disko or Bristol De Mai?

Brian Ellison, trainer I don’t think connections of last year’s winner Sizing John will be worried about any of them as Saturday’s Wetherby race cut up as they went around. If it comes up soft then Bristol De Mai would give Sizing John the most to think about but it’s seldom soft at the festival these days.
Luke Harvey, broadcaster In my opinion Disko might be the best. He jumps so well and he did well to win over a distance that is too short for him at Down Royal. Outlander seems a bit in and out and hard to predict, while Bristol De Mai gives the impression he’s better on a flat track.
James Knight, Ladbrokes Coral head of racing trading I wouldn’t fancy any of them for the Gold Cup and think we should all (bookmakers included) start talking more about the rest of the jumps season. On that note, I thought Bristol De Mai ran an excellent trial for the Betfair Chase.Gary Moore, trainer It’s a bit too early in the season to make any predictions like that as there are five months until Cheltenham. However, Bristol De Mai was very workmanlike in winning the Charlie Hall Chase, despite the race falling apart a bit with Cue Card and Coneygree not finishing. He dug deep to see off a decent enough benchmark in Blaklion.
Amy Murphy, trainer It was a nice performance from Disko at Down Royal. He made all having to give weight all round and he gets my vote. The other two have a bit to find in my book but March is a long way off and they could well improve.

Of Coneygree, Cue Card and Our Duke, who is most likely to bounce back?

Brian Ellison Cue Card. He was still travelling well when capsizing down the back straight and he’s bounced back from such falls in the past. I hope Coneygree’s setback isn’t too serious but Our Duke’s run was too bad to be true to be honest.
Luke Harvey It would have to be Our Duke. There were excuses for his defeat at Down Royal, which was just too bad to be true. I understand he scoped abnormally and he could very well bounce back and end up a leading fancy for the Gold Cup.
James Knight I’d love to be proved wrong, but I think Coneygree and Cue Card are past their best now and I don’t think they’ll be troubling the judge again in Grade 1s. Our Duke ran a shocker, but subsequently scoped badly, so it’s far more believable that his connections can get him back to his best. He’s still potentially exciting.
Gary Moore Coneygree has the fewest miles on the clock so he should have no problem in getting his career back on track. But all three horses are in very good hands so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t all be back in the near future.
Amy Murphy Cue Card. He’s very tough and has bounced back from falls before. He’s not getting any younger but is well built and will probably win next time as he’s done previously.

What was your highlight and lowlight of Del Mar’s first Breeders’ Cup?

Brian Ellison The track got a lot of good horses beaten, which was a shame, and those from a high draw got themselves beaten across the two days. The highlight was Peter Miller having two winners and a second – it was nice for one of the less established names to get a look in. The lowlight has to be Lady Aurelia, who was never sighted.
Luke Harvey The highlight of the meeting was probably Mendelssohn winning the Juvenile Turf on Friday. That was a proper performance, along with Gun Runner controlling things from the front in the Classic. It gives you a proper buzz – there aren’t any lowlights watching horses like that.
James Knight The lowlight was the track, which I thought was abysmal. The turf races were a lottery and most of the banner horses bombed out, while the dirt track was biased against the rail runners – not good enough for an event that calls itself a World Championship. The highlight was Ryan Moore’s ride on Declarationofpeace on the undercard. Exceptional.
Gary Moore Obviously the highlight was my son Ryan winning on Declarationofpeace. It was a superb hands-and-heels ride professionally executed from off the pace – it was great to watch. How can there be any lowlights at a meeting like that?
Amy Murphy Highlight: watching Ryan Moore at his best on Declarationofpeace. Lowlight: Arrogate. He’s not been the same horse in all three runs at Del Mar this year but will always have that Dubai World Cup victory on his record!