Dubai: Godolphin's Emirates Melbourne Cup (Group 1) hopeful Modun was described as "an ideal horse for the race" shortly after arriving in Australia along with stable companion Lost In The Moment for a shot at the prestigious 3,200m contest on November 1.
The Godolphin duo will be required to spend two weeks in quarantine at Racing Victoria's state-of-the-art International Horse Centre at Werribee Racecourse along with 13 other international raiders as they continue their preparations for the A$6 million (Dh22.45 million) race.
Godolphin head lad Tommy Strang, who was making his fourth Melbourne Cup trip from the stable's summer base at Newmarket, England issued an upbeat bulletin about the Saeed Bin Surour-trained contenders.
"They landed as they left — in good condition. Lost In The Moment and Modun travelled well. They have settled into their quarters at the Werribee International Horse Centre."
Defined roles
Modun was bought out of Sir Michael Stoute's yard specifically as a Melbourne Cup candidate, while Lost In The Moment is one of the yard's senior stayers who is likely to act as a pacemaker in the race.
Modun won his last start at Kempton when taking the Group Three September Stakes (2,400m) having previously scored twice over 2,000m.
Strang named Modun as a perfect candidate to give the stable its breakthrough win after Central Park (1999), Give The Slip (2001) and Crime Scene (2009) finished runner-up in previous attempts.
"He's an ideal horse for the race," Strang said.
"Very straightforward, he's got speed and he looks like he'll stick on.
"He has only had eight starts in his life. He could be an improving horse," Strang said.
The Godolphin horses were flown to Australia from Britain via Dubai on a private jet.
Faithful Son, Godolphin's first ever runner in the Melbourne Cup, finished seventh behind New Zealand's mare Jezabeel. Since then they have had runners in all but three of the Cups. The stable's greatest success in Australia came when All The Good won the Caulfield Cup (Group 1) in 2008.
