Exciting new books are piling up on my desk, some have kindly been sent by publishers, others by the authors themselves, and then there are several that have caught my eye in bookshops.

LUCA Cumani was left ruing his luck following Bauer’s narrow defeat at the hands of Viewed in the Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington yesterday.

Purple Moon will start from stall 15 as he chases a landmark success in Tuesday’s Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington.