Golden ticket up for grabs in the Belmont Gold Cup

Thursday evening at Saratoga Racecourse in upstate New York, just after 7:30am Friday in Melbourne, the winner of the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup (3200m) will be crowned, earning a coveted golden ticket into the 2026 Lexus Melbourne Cup.

There have been a handful of Belmont Gold Cup winners to make their way to Melbourne in recent years including Amade and Loft but prior to last year, only Red Cardinal ended up starting in the race that stops a nation®.

Trained by Andreas Wöhler, Red Cardinal won the 2017 Belmont Gold Cup with a Timeform rating of 115 and would go on to finish 11th in that year's Melbourne Cup won by Rekindling.

Amade never quite managed to make it to a Melbourne Cup but was a stalwart of the Australian staying ranks for a handful of seasons under Phillip Stokes, winning the Geelong and Sandown Cups as well as placing in the Lexus Bart Cummings and Bagot Handicap at Flemington.

Last year was one of the more fascinating editions of the Belmont Gold Cup and provided a fantastic story in the form of Parchment Party.

With heavy rain on the day, the two-mile turf race was remarkably switched onto the dirt and run over 2800m which couldn't have worked out better for the William Mott trained gelding who swept to the lead on his preferred surface, posting a Timeform rating of 112.

While Parchment Party failed to fire at Flemington on turf, finishing 20th to Half Yours, this year's edition should hold up a bit truer on turf with finer weather forecast in New York.

Parchment Party has been speculatively entered again on the hope that the rain would come and a repeat of last year's events might occur but is likely to withdraw if that isn't the case, leaving the field by three key chances.

Corruption was last seen running third in the Grade 1 Forester Turf Classic (1811m) at Churchill Downs, well beaten by two sharper ones but sticking on solidly.

His peak Timeform rating of 113 came the start prior over 2414m when just edged out by Far Bridge who is a dual Group 1 winner.

That sort of form sees him very well placed back to this level and while unproven at two miles, all of his best form has been over a mile-and-a-half, so it shouldn't pose an issue.

The two dangers look to be Flashiest and Tawny Port. Flashiest is an eight-year-old who was formerly campaigned as a miler but has stepped out in trip recently and improved his ratings, second in a pair of Grade 2 races at his past two starts over 2414m and 2012m at Santa Anita.

Whether he can step up in trip again is the question, something that certainly won't be an issue for Tawny Port who has done the majority of his racing over 2400m and beyond.

He switched stables this time last year but has been able to hold his form, beaten the barest of margins in the Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes (2414m) at Woodbine three starts ago, notably beating home multiple international Group 1 winner Nations Pride for Charlie Appleby in the process.

Tawny Port was well beaten in the Breeders' Cup Turf (2414m) behind Ethical Diamond in December and again on his reappearance at Keeneland but has the peaks to challenge Corruption who is the horse to beat.

The Belmont Gold Cup is the first of three international golden ticket races for the Melbourne Cup, alongside the Ebor Handicap (2787m) at York on August 22nd, and, for the first time, the Group 2 Prix Kergolay (3000m) at Deauville on August 23rd.