Racing officials were delighted by the huge response to the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate after first acceptances for the races were taken, with the strong accent on international competitors a pleasing new dimension.
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The numbers for local and overseas entrants eclipsed previous years' figures for both races, indicating that a more even spread of horses was being attracted to major races this spring, outside of the Melbourne Cup.
"The response has been terrific. The numbers are up dramatically on past years and there's a really good spread of local and international runners in both the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate," Racing Victoria spokesman Greg Carpenter said.
When the deadline of midday was reached, 110 entries were taken, with 13 of those being overseas performers, in the Cox Plate. Legendary trainer Aidan O'Brien had two horses; Adelaide and Magician.
"It's really pleasing to now see a wonderful spread of horses in the Cox Plate and the Caulfield Cup and, hopefully, the same equivalent number will be there come Melbourne Cup time," Carpenter said.
"Last year the Cox Plate got 90 entries with four overseas entrants and this year we can see 110 hopefuls and 13 of them are coming from overseas."
Racing Victoria international recruiter Leigh Jordon said horses such as Magician, who was a Breeder's Cup winner of last year, "helps bolster the class of the Cox Plate significantly".
Jordon said the response to the Caulfield Cup was just as pleasing, with the 2400m handicap drawing 121 nominations with 16 internationals, compared to last year's 98 entries and just seven from overseas.
Among the key international acceptors are Japanese pair Admire Rakti and Bande, 2013 runner-up Dandino and Marco Botti-trained stablemate Seismos, crowd favourite Red Cadeaux, German star Protectionist and talented UK mare Ambivalent.
Caulfield Cup winner Fawkner, Sydney Cup winner The Offer and a trio of high-class mares in Silent Achiever, Lucia Valentina and Rising Romance headline the Australasian acceptors.
The notable withdrawals were topweight Mukhadram and fellow internationals Cavalryman, Brown Panther and Mount Athos.
The quartet join Hong Kong star Dan Excel, who has already begun his Cox Plate preparation in Australia, among 13 remaining internationals.
And a hefty suspension looks set to delay the start of leading jockey Nash Rawiller's foray into Hong Kong racing.
Rawiller landed the biggest win of a two-month Japan contract in taking out the group 3 Niigata Kinen on Sunday.
But the moment was soured because of a careless riding suspension that will keep him out of the saddle until October 5.
Rawiller is planning to appeal the ban which has implications for spring commitments in Australia. He has a long-standing engagement to ride talented New Zealand mare Silent Achiever.
"We won't be trying to get the charge overturned entirely, but trying to have the suspension shortened," Rawiller told the South China Morning Post.
"As it stands, I would miss nearly a month of important days in Melbourne and some key meetings in Hong Kong, so we will hope to get a few days shaved off.
"We will try and make a case that it is a much more severe punishment than it would be had I been riding in Japan in that time, where they do not race as often."
