Bart Cummings has entered 12 horses for November's 150th Melbourne Cup as the master trainer bids to win his 13th edition of the great race which is worth a record $6 million this year.
Nominations for spring features closed on Tuesday with 253 horses nominated for the Melbourne Cup, an increase of 22 from 2009, with 45 international horses among them.
Cummings, known as the Cups king for his domination of the race over the past 45 years, is certainly not slowing down in his pursuit of Australia's greatest prize despite the 82-year-old spending a prolonged period in hospital recently with pneumonia.
Heading his nominations is last year's Cox Plate winner So You Think, supported by Oaks winners Faint Perfume and Dariana and Australian Cup winner Sirmione.
Included among the nominations for the first time since 2007 are five horses from Japan, while there are 22 horses from the UK, 10 from the UAE, four from Ireland, three from France and one from Hong Kong.
Jaguar Mail and Meiner Kitz, the past two winners of the Group 1 Tenno Sho (3200m), feature amongst the five Japanese entries, while Japanese horses are also entered for the Cox Plate, the VRC Derby and the Caulfield Cup.
Godolphin's bid to win the Melbourne Cup sees the world's richest stable enter nine horses for the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups including 2009 English St Leger and Italian Derby winner Mastery, 2009 Arc De Triomphe placegetter Cavalryman and Group 1 winner Campanologist.
Luca Cumani's bid to win the Cup sees the legendary trainer nominating Melbourne Cup placegetters Purple Moon (2007) and Bauer (2008) as well as Drunken Sailor, Manighar and Becqu Adoree. Dermot Weld, winner of the 1993 Cup with Vintage Crop, has entered four horses including Profound Beauty.
On the local front, 2009 winner Shocking and 2007 winner Efficient are both nominated. Efficient is one of 20 horses owned by Lloyd Williams, who is desperate to win the 150th running of the race, among the nominations.
There are 235 entries for the Caulfield Cup and 186 for the Cox Plate.