Melbourne Cup 2026: Jamie Melham Chases History on Future History as Point of Law Leads a 24-Horse Field

Two late scratchings reshaped the Melbourne Cup field before the gates ever opened at Flemington. Defiantly failed a vet inspection, and Stinger Glass was judged at risk of injury. Their withdrawals let Kizlyar and Future History into the race, and the second of those inclusions put a piece of history within reach.

Future History will be ridden from barrier 12 by Jamie Melham, the reigning Cup-winning jockey. The nine-year-old gelding, trained by Gregory Hickman, is regarded as a long-shot at 53.5kg. But if he won on Tuesday, Melham would become the first woman to win back-to-back Melbourne Cups. The last jockey to take successive Cups was Mark Zahra, who rode Gold Trip and Without A Fight to victory in 2022 and 2023. Melham told Nine that one win had been incredible but that she wants another, and that being the first woman to do it would be pretty special.

The race is run on Tuesday, November 3, as race seven on the Flemington card. It starts at 3pm over 3200 metres, as a Group One contest for a 24-horse field. The day's racing begins at 10.45am and finishes with race 10 at 5.15pm. Prizemoney totals $10.2 million, with $4.5 million to the winner. Channel Nine will broadcast the race live, and it will also stream on 9Now.

At the head of the market is Point of Law, at $6. The English four-year-old has won three of his last four starts, including the Geelong Cup just under a fortnight ago. He is trained by Ciaron Maher, who prepared Gold Trip for the 2022 Cup, and will be ridden by Ethan Brown from barrier nine, carrying 53kg. Maher said barrier nine is ideal, because the horse needs to get the first half of the race right and the draw should help him do that.

Point of Law is one of a record seven runners for Maher, who also fields the imports Middle Earth, Mr Monaco, Royal Supremacy, Juja Kibo, Shockletz and Zahrann. Shockletz, a New Zealand-bred five-year-old, finished second and then first in his last two Flemington starts and is at 10-to-one from barrier 17. Irish gelding Juja Kibo is at $12 after two straight wins.

Other runners draw attention for different reasons. Knight's Choice, the 2024 winner, could become only the sixth horse to win the Cup two or more times, and the first since Makybe Diva. Onesmoothoperator, an American gelding, is aiming to become the first nine-year-old to win the race, though barrier 13 makes it harder. Enfjaar, third in the Caulfield Cup, has barrier eight and 56kg with Ray Dawson aboard, and form analysts favour his chance.

Joseph O'Brien's runners are spread across the gates. Goodie Two Shoes (19), Kizlyar (20) and James J Braddock (24) start wide, while British six-year-old Sons And Lovers drew barrier three.

Only four Australian horses are in the field: So You Are, Zakouma, Knight's Choice and Strictly Business. So You Are, trained by Bjorn Baker and ridden by Rachel King from barrier seven, has won four straight, including two in October on good and soft tracks. With the field set and the barriers drawn, the answer comes at 3pm on Tuesday.