The Group 1 Caulfield Cup at Caulfield Racecourse may lose its pre-race favorite in Gold Trip if conditions are too firm for the $3.16 million race. Gold Trip was the winner of the Group 1 Melbourne Cup last November, and is scheduled to start in the same race on Nov. 7. The Caulfield Cup could be his final prep for the Melbourne Cup at two miles. As of Thursday, the course at Caulfield was scheduled to be watered to keep the official condition as good. Trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace cautioned earlier this week that conditions will determine whether Gold Trip starts in the Caulfield Cup at 1 1/2 miles. :: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing Until earlier this month, Gold Trip did not feature prominently among the candidates for the Melbourne Cup. He ended a five-race losing streak since the 2022 Melbourne Cup with an upset win in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Flemington Racecourse on Oct. 7. In the Caulfield Cup, Gold Trip will carry topweight of 129 pounds, facing as many as 17 rivals who will carry 110 to 122.3 pounds. Gold Trip is scheduled to be ridden for the first time by Ben Melham, who was named when entries were finalized on Wednesday. Mark Zahra, Gold Trip’s regular rider, is booked to ride Without a Fight, a contender who won consecutive stakes in May and June but was sixth in the Group 1 Underwood Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Caulfield on Sept. 23. Without a Fight, who will carry 122.3 pounds, is better suited to the longer distance of the Caulfield Cup. The Caulfield Cup also drew West Wind Blows and Soulcombe, who were second and third in the Turnbull and are rated as contenders for the Melbourne Cup. West Wind Blows will carry 119, while Soulcombe has an assignment of 118. Randwick Preview Cotehele may be rounding into form at a lucrative time in Australia. Cotehele was beaten a nose in the first running of the $955,600 Alan Brown Stakes at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Oct. 7 in his first start in three months. A New Zealand-bred, Cotehele is part of another rich race in the $633,000 Five Diamonds Prelude at 7 1/2 furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Friday evening, a prep for the $1.26 million Five Diamonds Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Rosehill Gardens on Nov. 11. The Five Diamonds races are restricted to Southern Hemisphere 5-year-olds. The series was launched in 2022. In the Alan Brown Stakes at seven furlongs, Cotehele closed from 10th to just miss beating Cepheus. In the 14-runner Five Diamonds Prelude, Cotehele was the 4-1 second choice in early betting behind 7-2 Democracy Manifest, who finished a troubled fifth by 1 ¼ lengths in the Group 1 Epsom Stakes at a mile at Randwick on Sept. 30. Randwick has a 10-race program beginning at 9:35 p.m. Eastern or 6:35 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.