Father-and-son training combination Bill and Symon Wilde have three nominations with Basaltico, Hissing Sid, and Lords Ransom paid up.

Camperdown trainer Denis Daffy has entered Miles Above, Jarrod McLean has taken the first step towards Cup glory with Cats Fun and Ciaron Maher steps up to the big time with star galloper Moudre.

Codrington trainer John Nugent has unraced three-year-old Try Pickle nominated for the Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate and Caulfield Guineas.

Legendary trainer Bart Cummings has assembled a team of 12 horses in his attempt to win the historic 150th Melbourne Cup at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.

Headlining his pursuit of a record 13th Melbourne Cup are a trio of outstanding four-year-olds Cox Plate champion So You Think, Crown Oaks winner Faint

Perfume and Queensland Derby winner Dariana.

Nominations for the Melbourne Cup (3200m), which carries record prize money of $6 million closed at noon yesterday. A total of 253 horses were entered, up from 231 last year.

Entries also closed for Australia's weight-for-age championship, the $3 million Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on 23 October, with the Wilde boys entering Lords Ransom and Maher Moudre and McLean Cats Fun.

Forty-nine international horses have been nominated across the Melbourne and Caulfield

Cups and the Cox Plate, headlined by a strong contingent from Japan.

Japanese horses had been prevented from travelling to Australia since Equine Influenza

outbreaks in both countries in 2007.

When they last competed in Australia, stablemates Delta Blues and Pop Rock finished one-two in the 2006 Melbourne Cup.

Irish trainer Dermot Weld has four horses entered for the spring features including Profound Beauty, who finished fifth as favourite in the 2008 Melbourne

Cup, and Rite Of Passage, winner of the group one Ascot Gold Cup (4000m) in June.

Like Weld's maiden Cup winner Vintage Crop (1993), Rite Of Passage has successfully

mixed jumps and flat racing in his brief career. Weld's other victory in the Melbourne Cup came courtesy of Media Puzzle in 2002.

Melbourne Cup winner Shocking is back and his trainer Mark Kavanagh also has crowd favourite Whobegotyou entered for the Cox Plate.

Leviathan owner Lloyd Williams has scoured the world to find his fourth Melbourne Cup winner. The big-spending owner has nominated 20 horses for the race including 2007 winner Efficient who has not contested the past two owing to injury.

Also featuring amongst Williams' entries are 2009 Irish St Leger winner Alandi, 2009 Irish Derby placegetter Mourayan, the untapped Linton and stable evergreen Zipping who has been nominated for a fourth Cox Plate after running a place the past two years.
 

Arch Symbol will get as much as 6.5kg off the top weights Moatize and Pinnacles after receiving only 53.5kg in Saturday's Hiskens Cup (1514m).

The six-year-old will be on trial at the distance, his first test beyond 1400 metres, after a tenacious half length third to Soul Diva and Philda in last Saturday's Clamms Seafood Handicap (1400m) at Caulfield.

"I don't really like the week back up after Caulfield but he is beautifully weighted and we will have to have a think about it," Symon Wilde said.

Arch Symbol has won seven of his 18 starts but isn't noted for backing up.

Last year he won at Hamilton with eight days between runs but last month he didn't fire as expected when beaten 3-1/2 lengths finishing fourth to Elusive Touch at Flemington, five days after his half length second to Philda at Moonee Valley.

Wilde said it was always hoped Arch Symbol would get his chance in longer races and the time was now right for him.

"The only reason we have been sprinting him is because he has been so unsound," Wilde said.

He said Arch Symbol was poorly conformed with a club foot and was prone to shoulder pain because of it.

For that reason his trackwork is limited but race fitness this campaign has given the foundation to target longer races.

"I think he would make a good miler actually," Wilde said.

"He is pretty versatile as he can settle and he can go forward so there are a few ticks the box."

Arch Symbol and arch rival Philda are again likely to clash at the valley.

However Moonee Valley specialist Philda, with 59kg, will meet Arch Symbol 3kg worse than last Saturday.

Three of Philda's 10 wins in 28 starts have been at Valley, including twice this campaign.

Other Hiskens Cup nominations include Diggersanddealers, who made it three city wins in a row at Caulfield on Saturday.

Damien Oliver has already been booked for the mount.

Craig Williams is engaged for Streetfighter who is resuming and Davcon also returns from a spell.

DUAL Warrnambool Cup winner Hissing Sid will spend the next month in a Queensland spelling paddock before launching a spring carnival assault after an eye infection prematurely ended his winter campaign.

Joint trainer Symon Wilde yesterday revealed the gelding's Brisbane campaign was over after just one run.

A bitterly disappointed Wilde said plans to run Sid on Saturday in place of missing a start in the group 2 Brisbane Cup (2400m) had been ruled out with the five-year-old yet to fully recover from the eye infection.

A bit of dirt, which had lodged in Hissing Sid's eye during his fourth-placing in the group 3 Premier's Cup (2200m) at Doomben earlier this month, had caused the infection.

He said Sid had been released from a vet's care. "They gave him a drug to make his pupil dialted and it hasn't come down yet," he said.

"When the pupil is dilated, it is a good sign there is healing going on but it can take two weeks to come back to normal.

"That eye is at a different focus to his other eye so if you start to train him and run him, you run the risk of him tripping up or banging into things.

"I can still swim him but I can't really ride him."

Wilde said a run in Saturday's Tattersall's Cup (2200m) at Eagle Farm was off the agenda.

"I'll get him out into the paddock today and have four weeks there and then come home on the truck. We'll spell him up here in the weather."

Wilde said no firm plans had been mapped out for Hissing Sid's spring campaign but the Caulfield and Melbourne cups, group 2 Saab Quality handicap and Moonee Valley Cup were in the mix.

The stable had decided to give Hissing Sid a shot at the Brisbane Cup in a bid to qualify him for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

He narrowly missed out on a Melbourne Cup start last November.

"It went a bit pear-shaped," Wilde said of the plan.

"I spoke with the handicapper and he reckons he is on the borderline now. He is a chance to get in now as it stands, which is good."

Rising nine-year-old Baughurst finished fifth, beaten only two lengths, to Our Lukas in the Listed Ipswich Cup (2150m) last Saturday.

It was the gelding's fifth start in as many weeks.

Hissing Sid's campaign for the Group Two Brisbane Cup earlier this month was derailed after he suffered an eye injury when fourth to Tabulate in the Group Three Premier's Cup (2200m) at Doomben last month.

The five-year-old's injury seemed innocuous at first but became infected and he had to be treated by an equine eye specialist.

Hissing Sid, a well-named son of Golden Snake, developed a big fan club in Victoria after winning the past two Warrnambool Cups on his home track.

Wilde, who is on his first trip to Queensland, conceded defeat in trying to get Hissing Sid fit for the Tattersall's Cup and will decide later this week whether to run Baughurst.

"His (Hissing Sid's) eye is healing well but the pupil is still dilated and we can't work him," Wilde said.

"His focus is different in each eye but we'll see him back in time for the spring."

Wilde has been forced to swim Hissing Sid to keep him as fit as possible during his recuperation.

"I've only been able to swim him since he got the infection and we've had to abandon our Brisbane plans with him," he said.

Wilde was pleased enough with Baughurst's Ipswich Cup effort to nominate the son of Tayasu Tsuyoshi for the Tattersall's Cup (2200m).

"I was quite happy with his run under topweight in the Ipswich Cup," he said.

"We're still only fifty-fifty about running him this Saturday but he's pulled up very well.

"He'll have to tick all the boxes and draw a good alley to run again on Saturday."

No rider has been confirmed for Baughurst in the Tattersall's Cup but Wilde hopes his Ipswich Cup jockey Shane Scriven will be available.

TRAINER Symon Wilde is banking on Shane Scriven's affinity with older horses, a good draw and a solid tempo to help Baughurst in the Ipswich Cup.
 

Wilde made a late decision to tackle the Ipswich Cup even though this will be rising eight-year-old's fifth successive Saturday of racing at the Brisbane winter carnival.

Baughurst could finish only 14th to Crossthestart in the Brisbane Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday.

Wilde's immediate thought was to take Baughurst back home for a short break before preparing for another spring campaign.
But he was encouraged by Brisbane Cup rider Damien Oliver to persevere with a winter program for another run.

"Damien felt the horse ran okay in the Brisbane Cup," Wilde said.

"He had a terrible barrier and had to go right back in the field. That worked against him when they jammed on the brakes up front in the middle stages.

"He was still more than 20 lengths off the lead at the 600 metres and was beaten a bit over six lengths.

"So we thought it was reasonable to overlook that race and go on his previous fourth in the 2200 metres weight-for-age race a week earlier.

"He's a good back-up horse who won the Coongy last spring at his third Saturday in a row.

"We're stabled at Wadham Park this trip and have been able to make use of the water walker so he doesn't do much trackwork between races.

"We made a decision not to start if he drew widely so it was a relief to get gate two."

Wilde asked local contacts for suggestions about a rider with good knowledge of the Ipswich track and Scriven was given a strong recommendation.

Scriven has a first-class record on some "older citizens" such as Buck's Pride, Consular and Scenic Shot.

Wilde said the Ipswich Cup probably would be Baughurst's winter grand final and he is keen to try the gelding again in some of the spring meetings.

"He thrives in the spring. He won't have much of a break because he just takes too long to get fit again when he is out for a long spell," Wilde said.

Another staying warhorse, Fulmonti, is backing up from the Brisbane Cup. He finished eighth, beaten 3.1 lengths with little luck in the home straight.

"He struck a lot of trouble in the home straight and was never able to be fully tested in the final 400 metres," Fulmonti's trainer Chris Jordan said.

"That's one of the reasons we are backing him up. He didn't have a hard run last week."

Fulmonti has not won in 14 starts since taking out the Hollindale Cup at the Gold Coast in May last year.

He was injured on a short-lived campaign in Victoria in the spring and took a few races to regain fitness and form this preparation.

Symon Wilde, who trains the eight-year-old in partnership with his father Bill, said Baughurst had been destined for a spell after his unlucky fourth behind Triple Honour in last Saturday's weight-for-age 2200-metre race, also at Eagle Farm.

But with stablemate Hissing Sid missing today's Cup because of an eye infection and Baughurst in good form, they had decided to give him another race.

After a couple of highly credentialled gallopers didn't accept, Baughurst enters the race as top weight with 57 kilograms.

"He's got top weight and he's got gate 18, they are a couple of big negatives against him," he said.

"I think he's poorly weight in that race, the two horsesabove him, that's why didn't race."

Wilde said Baughurst had to do a lot right to win.

"He is going to have to go back and need some luck in running and he's giving them weight. He's going to need a lot of luck."

Wilde said Baughurst had taken a liking to genuine dead tracks after being considered a soft-track horse for most of his career until last spring.

"It was pretty firm last week and ran a bottler of a race last Saturday," he said.

"Since he ran so well we've added this on to his program. But there a lot of minuses. He is backing up four weeks in a row, we had planned to give him the three and give him a rest."

Warrnambool Cup winner Hissing Sid, which had been set for the Brisbane Cup after his history-making second consecutive home-town cup last May, suffered an eye infection after his last start two weeks ago.

Wilde said the gelding had been treated at a specialist equine centre in Brisbane and he hoped he would be discharged on Monday.

"It had been quite serious," Wilde said of the infection.

Should Hissing Sid be released on Monday, he planned to contest the TAB Cup at Eagle Farm in two weeks.

He said the injury may have been a blessing in disguise.

"It was disappointing because he ran so well in the lead up, we were always using that as a pipe opener for the Brisbane Cup.

"There has been no rain up here, the track would be a good three or dead four and it might be a blessing in disguise for him because he doesn't like it that firm."

Warrnambool's Symon Wilde, who trains Hissing Sid with father Bill, said the stayer pulled up well after its 4-1/2 length Warrnambool Cup (2350m) victory on Thursday.

"The strength of the race on Saturday isn't all that strong," Wilde said of the Andrew Ramsden.

"We were a bit surprised that it wasn't so strong and after talking with the handicapper, he said if (Hissing Sid) won, he would probably get a penalty for the Melbourne Cup.

"He won't automatically qualify but if he wins, it will go a fair way to getting him in the race because it will put him up the list a bit further."

Hissing Sid started favourite in the Andrew Ramsden a year ago but finished fifth to Phaze Action.

"He wasn't beaten by much," Wilde said.

"He didn't settle that well but I think he will this year."

Wilde was optimistic about the five-year-old's chances

on Saturday.

"Just because of the way he relaxed at Warrnambool and finished off the race," he said.

"But he's (been allocated the top weight of) 59 kilos, which is the only anchor, and we don't want a firm track.

"It would have to be rain-affected for him to run."

The Wildes are also likely to commit to a Queensland stint for Hissing Sid, which would culminate with the Group Two Brisbane Cup (2400m) at Eagle Farm on June 12.

"It's quite complicated to get him flown up to Brisbane," Wilde said.

"We want to give him a lead-up run there.

"If we're struggling to get flights, he's probably more likely to just run in the Ramsden but if flights are readily available, he'll go to Queensland.

"It's a two-mile race on Saturday and Brisbane is 2400, so he'll be coming back in distance a bit but I don't think it will be too much drama."
 

''We haven't had a lot of luck all week but to win your home-town cup again just makes up for it all," said Symon Wilde

With riders keen to steer clear of the inside section of the track after a heavy workload over two-and-a-half days of racing, the defending champion appeared to be in an awkward position as the field turned for home with Ben Melham hemmed in near the fence.

But, Bill Wilde revealed afterwards, the ride had been carefully planned earlier in the day, with a belief that the inside section might not be as bad as the pattern of racing suggested.

''What a beautiful ride it was. Symon and Ben between them orchestrated that plan to stick to the fence and they all fanned out on the turn and everything worked out brilliantly for us," Bill Wilde said.

In a slowly run cup, Melham angled towards the rails as the field left the fence on the home turn and, with a superior turn of foot, surged clear of the pack to run to a commanding lead. Rank outsider and early leader Cruyfforme held on for second, with Light Vision third ahead of a wall of horses.

Bill Wilde admitted he was a little worried that Hissing Sid might not have been going as well as he had last year in the lead-up to yesterday's race, after he failed when an odds-on favourite at Flemington in his final lead-up run, a race he won easily last year. A hard track was blamed for the defeat - a theory that was proved yesterday with Hissing Sid returning to his very best on a softer surface.

For connections, the victory was especially sweet as all live locally, and most are also members of the Warrnambool Racing Club.

For part-owner Ros Orr, who ran a Warrnambool hotel for many years with her husband John, Hissing Sid's second Warrnambool Cup ranks as one of the best days of her life, especially as he is the first horse in 32 years to win consecutive cups.

''He's just an amazing horse, we all love him. To win last year's race was amazing, but to win again is incredible. Hopefully we can go for three next year,'' she said.

Bill Wilde said Hissing Sid would head north for the Brisbane Cup and that the prospect of a wet winter carnival was too hard to refuse with an in-form wet-track specialist in his stable.