St Leger third Desert Hero may head for Melbourne Cup with King and Queen 'very keen' to have runners in Australia

The King and Queen are keen to have runners in Australia and their first from a British stable could come as soon as November with their St Leger third Desert Hero set to begin preparations for the Melbourne Cup this week.

Although Desert Hero failed to become the first royal Classic winner for 46 years at Doncaster on Saturday, the royal couple were encouraged to see him finish a promising third to Continuous and have ambitions for him to travel to Flemington for the big race on November 4.

The three-year-old colt is a best-priced 12-1 chance to become the first royal winner of the race. The late Queen Elizabeth II's Arabian Story was the last to try when he finished sixth to Australian champion Might And Power under Frankie Dettori in 1997 while Chalk Stream, trained locally by Chris Waller, landed the Listed Australia Day Cup in the royal silks at Warwick Farm in January this year.