Melbourne Cup spot on the line for King Charles’ horse Gilded Water in The Bart Cummings at Flemington

The rising stayer, owned by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, must at the very least place in the golden-ticket race to pass the first ballot clause and be eligible for the Cup.

Gilded Water is equal 54th of 66 Melbourne Cup first acceptors but with only a 51kg handicap would be unlikely to scrape into the field without a qualification-race victory.

Trainer Ciaron Maher flagged Gilded Water as a Cup candidate last summer after back-to-back wins and a 2400m second in a Benchmark 78 at Rosehill.

Gilded Water, a nervous and tense type initially, underwent barrier re-education and conditioning work to prepare for the spring carnival.

He ran third at Caulfield first-up in an 1800m Benchmark 78 and then won a 2000m Benchmark 84 to guarantee a start in the Bart Cummings.

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“He needed to do that (Caulfield win) … if he hadn’t won we were probably Herbert Power (Stakes), so a different path,” assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said.

“But having won that and seeing the way the Bart came up, his main aim is the Melbourne Cup.

“It opens up a lot of doors (winning on Saturday), you’re not stretched or pushing to go races you don’t really want to, you could go Bart, Moonee Valley Gold Cup … nicely spaced.”

Gilded Water is a $2.30 favourite on Saturday from Cup golden ticket Archer Stakes winner Revelare ($3.80), Berkshire Breeze ($10), Mormona ($12) and Bur Dubai ($12).

Turnbull said Gilded Water has the baseline fitness to pass the 2520m third-up test.

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“We thought the whole time he’s been screaming for the trip,” Turnbull said.

“He’s got such a huge aerobic capacity but he’s done the leg work, been in work a long time.

“So long as it works out from the wider draw, we won’t be going back I’d imagine, it’s a matter of where we land and how we flow, on what we do that first quarter.

“Jamie (Melham) galloped him during the week as well, it’s a nice fit, she tends to go really well with those horses, she can get them to travel kindly and get the best out of them.”

Gilded Water has strong opposition on Saturday, including three from inside the Maher stable.

Berkshire Breeze ran an “enormous” second to eventual Caulfield Cup favourite Half Yours in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes last start, while Sayedaty Sadaty placed third in the Archer behind Revelare.

Seasoned stayer Interpretation ($61), who has raced in three Cups to date, rounds out the Maher trio.

Gilded Water has firmed steadily in Melbourne Cup all-in markets, $34 into $15, behind Al Riffa ($5), Sir Delius ($5) and Revelare ($11).

Sir Delius could be promoted to outright favourite on Saturday with win or strong performance in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

Originally published as Melbourne Cup spot on the line for King Charles’ horse Gilded Water in The Bart Cummings at Flemington