Melbourne Cup-winning jockey James McDonald will ride the Joseph O’Brien-trained Trustyourinstinct in this year’s edition of the great race.
McDonald rode Aeliana to third in Saturday’s Cox Plate, then on Sunday, that mare’s trainer Chris Waller said it was “very unlikely” that she would contest the Melbourne Cup, paving the way for the star hoop to commit to Trustyourinstinct.
A son of Churchill, Trustyourinstinct was last seen in the Group 1 Irish St Leger at the Curragh, where he placed fourth, 4.5 lengths behind Scandinavia. Prior to that, the gelding won the G2 Curragh Cup.