Willie Mullins eyes Melbourne Cup breakthrough with Vauban

Known locally as "the race that stops the nation," the title has long eluded horses trained outside Australia and New Zealand.

DOWN UNDER: Trainer Willie Mullins. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

After 20 years of trying, Willie Mullins will hope to join the Irish contingent of Melbourne Cup-winning trainers when favourite Vauban runs in the A$8 million (€4.8m) handicap at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday.

Since preparing Holy Orders in his first Melbourne Cup foray in 2003, Mullins has come close to winning Australia's most prestigious race, with Max Dynamite pipped by rank outsider Prince of Penzance in 2015 and third behind Rekindling in 2017.