Craig Wiliams; Cup Washup; Hong Kong Hopes; OTI Racing; Salon Soldier; Coup Ay Tee; St Andrew; Cup Breeding

• CRAIG Williams is set to make what is becoming an annual pilgrimage to Japan for a pre-Christmas riding stint.

Williams, a big hit on previous visits to Japan, has confirmed that he will take up another one month riding contract from the Japan Racing Association later this month.

Williams will begin his stint at the Japan Cup meeting on November 24 and will finish with the G1 Arima Kinen, Japan's biggest domestic race, on December 23.

He will also ride at Hong Kong international meeting at Sha Tin on December 8 where he may again team up with Melbourne Cup third Mount Athos.

• THE Hong Kong international meeting is going to feature up to four of the international beaten horses in the Melbourne Cup.

Mount Athos, Dunaden and Dandino are booked to be flown to Hong Kong for a rematch in the HK Vase at Sha Tin on December 8 and may be joined by the evergreen Red Cadeaux if his connections elect to bypass the Japan Cup on November 24.

Red Cadeaux won last year's Vase and Ed Dunlop has not ruled out running the amazing veteran in both Japan and Hong Kong.

Mike Moroney is also hoping Voleurs De Coeurs, the Irish St Leger winner who joined his stable before the Melbourne Cup, will also pick up a Vase invite.

• AUSTRALIAN horses seeking invites to Hong Kong include Julienas and Aeronautical.

Gai Waterhouse hopes Julienas can earn an invite for the HK Cup or Vase while Aeronautical's trainer Lionel Cohen is chasing an invite for the Sprint.

Cohen is hoping Hong Kong officials overlook Aeronautical's last start failure in the G2 Gilgai Stakes at Flemington when he was affected by an allergy after resuming with a flash run for second to Sessions in the G2 Shorts at Randwick.

The setback ended his Melbourne campaign but Cohen has him back on track and will give the sprinter a barrier trial at Rosehill on Tuesday that he hopes will convince the HKJC that he is worthy of an invite to Sha Tin.

Horses selected for Hong Kong will be flown out on November 25, leaving Cohen under the pump to have him ready for the international meeting.

“I wont be starting him in a race before the flight leaves but would like to give him a race day gallop or another trial,” Cohen said.

Aeronautical is a G1 placegetter in the Newmarket at Flemington and would not be out of place in the Sprint.

• NEW stable plans have been laid by OTI Racing for the import Ruscello while a decision is pending on the future of A Quest For Peace.

Lexus Stakes winner will join the Robert Smerdon stable while A Quest For Peace is moving on from the Peter Moody stable.

Ruscello was brought to Melbourne by English trainer Ed Walker with the intention always to have the horse transferred to a local trainer after the carnival.

A change of environment is in order for A Quest For Peace, who failed to regain the form he showed at last year's spring carnival.

OTI's Terry Henderson said A Quest For Peace could be sent back to Luca Cumani in England, go to a country trainer in Victoria or be retired.

The Moody-trained Ibicenco, 16th in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup, is a chance to defend his Sandown Cup crown at Caulfield next week.

• EXCITING import Salon Soldier was lame after his impressive win at Flemington on Tuesday but it won't have an immediate impact on his program.

The Kris Lees-trained import, a big winner at Randwick at his only previous Australian start, has been spelled as per the plan that was set in place for him before Tuesday's raced.

Jamie Lovett, of Newcastle-based syndicating company Australian Bloodstock, said the long range plan is to see Super Salon run in next year's Melbourne Cup.

“The horse will go for a spell and come back for the autumn. His ultimate goal will be to return to Melbourne for the major cups next year,” Lovett said.

“He has done a remarkable job as he had an interrupted program because of a minor injury, and yet he has still been able to win at Randwick and Flemington.

Salon Soldier had qualified for this year's Caulfield Cup but a stable accident at the start of the spring when he was cast in his box cost him any chance of making it to that race.

• SYDNEY-trained Coup Ay Tee has been posted as an $8 chance by the NZ TAB's fixed odds arm to win next week's G1 Coupland's Bakeries Mile at Riccarton.

Coup Ay Tee, owned by race sponsor Ray Coupland, will be ex-Kiwi Chris Waller's first starter in New Zealand in nine years.

The late nomination of multiple G1 winner Final Touch following her win at Wingatui on Tuesday saw her posted as favourite.

Final Touch carried 61.5kg at Wingatui in her first appearance since her G1 placings in the first two legs of the Hawke's Bay Triple Crown series in August and September.

• A bruised foot prevented promising NZ three-year-old St Andrew making it to Melbourne for the Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington last Saturday.

Trainer Richard Otto intended to give the Hakes Bay Guineas winner an early taste of Australian competition but his flight had to be aborted at the last minute.

“We were all ready to hop onto the truck to go to the airport when the bruise came out,” Otto said.

“I wasn't happy so we canned it and thank heaven we did as the next day he was worse.

“He's fine now but he'll be out in the paddock for six weeks.”

Otto has his sights on the Australian Derby at Randwick in the autumn for St Andrew.

• MUCH has been made of the New Zealand presence, or lack of it, in this year's Melbourne Cup.

There wasn't a NZ-trained runner and for the record it was the first time since Russia won the 1946 Melbourne Cup that not one horse in this year's field was sired in New Zealand.

Since 1946 NZ-breds had won 29 Melbourne Cups including the first nine winners prepared by Bart Cummings.

The Kiwi influence has waned due to the big swing by Australian owners and trainers to buying their staying talent from the northern hemisphere.

This year 19 of the 24 Cup runners were sired in Great Britain, Ireland, France or Germany with nine representing overseas stables.

Interestingly eight of the northern hemisphere sired runners were by stallions who shuttled to Australia or New Zealand, namely Montjeu (2), Teofilo (2), Cape Cross, Galileo, Barathea and Marju.

For various reasons Teofilo is the only one of those sires still shuttling to Australia.