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Half Yours may be one of the raging favourites for the 2025 Melbourne Cup, but the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained runner will have to overcome a historical hoodoo to lift the trophy on Tuesday.
While form, stamina and tactics often determine who wins the race that stops a nation, fortune has always played its part at Flemington.
It's the same luck that helped 100-1 outsiders like Prince of Penzance in 2015 and Knight's Choice in 2024 pull off miracle victories when few gave them a chance.
This year, however, superstition could spook even the most confident punter.
Half Yours has drawn barrier eight, and since automatic starting stalls were introduced in 1958, no horse originally drawn in that gate has ever won the Melbourne Cup.
The only other 'cursed' stall is barrier 20, which has also failed to produce a winner from the original draw.
Half Yours has been a warm favourite for punters, but will need to defy history to claim the Melbourne Cup
Goodie Two Shoes faces a tough task with an unfavourable saddlecloth number and barrier draw
In 2025, that spot belongs to Goodie Two Shoes, currently a 27-1 chance. Adding to its misfortune, the mare will also carry saddlecloth number 20, a number not worn by a winning Cup horse since 1897.
Before 1958, there were no mechanical stalls. Races began with stewards waving flags, strand barriers, and often chaos, with jockeys jostling for position.
The move to automatic stalls created a fairer, more structured start but also introduced the Melbourne Cup's longest-running statistical quirks.
Over time, each barrier has produced a winner since stalls began, except for the unlucky pair, eight and twenty.
Interestingly, two horses have triumphed from those gates after late scratching reshuffles, but none that were originally drawn there.
Barrier 18 long carried a reputation for bad luck, with just one victory to its name before Verry Elleegant broke the spell in 2021. This year, Torranzino will take his chances from that gate.
Barriers seven, drawn by Furthur, and fifteen, drawn by Arapaho, have also each delivered only one Melbourne Cup winner in history.
Barrier 5 (Chevalier Rose, No. 5) has been the most successful with 10 wins, followed by barrier 11 (Smokin' Romans, No. 12) with nine.
There have been plenty of recent examples of runners defying history and the odds at recent Melbourne Cups
Barrier 6 has endured the longest drought, last winning with Light Fingers in 1965.
Winners drawn from barriers 9 to 16 have dominated in modern times, accounting for 27 victories from the original draw.
But for Half Yours, the equation is simple: break the barrier eight curse and etch his name into Cup folklore.
Steady rain in the build-up to the Melbourne Cup is expected to play into the hands of Half Yours, though, along with fellow leading contender Al Riffa.
Track manager Liam O'Keeffe has predicted horses could be racing on a soft 6 surface by Cup time, with conditions in the morning to determine whether the course is upgraded.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a slight clearing before the 24-horse field jumps in the race that stops a nation at 3pm (AEDT).
Melbourne's inclement weather on Monday was a far cry from the sunshine that bathed the racecourse for Saturday's Victoria Derby day meeting.
But it perfectly suited Half Yours' co-trainer Calvin McEvoy, who joked he would be doing a 'rain dance' after the local hope drew perfectly in barrier eight.
Punters are flocking into Flemington even despite the prediction of a wet day at the track
'Love it. Bring it on. He absolutely loves the wet, this horse,' McEvoy said of the rain.
'He's been effective his last three runs on good threes but he's much better on heavy ground.'
Meanwhile, in-form jockey Mark Zahra needs to overcome the weight of history aboard the Joseph O'Brien-trained Irish stayer Al Riffa, with the topweight to carry 59kg out of barrier 19.
Rain Lover won his second Cup in 1969 with 60.5kg and no horse has carried more than 58.5kg to triumph since then.
Despite having these hurdles to overcome, a tide of money forced Al Riffa into outright favouritism on Monday.
This included one bet of $500,000 – to win $3.5million – at the traditional Call of the Card function, which helped Al Riffa firm to $7 while Half Yours eased to $7.50.
Master trainer Chris Waller will saddle five horses in the Cup field of 24, including leading fancies Valiant King ($8.50) and Buckaroo ($9), and isn't concerned about the wet weather.
'The beauty of Flemington is it's a world-class track,' Waller said on Monday.
'Regardless of rain today, I don't think it will affect racing tomorrow.
'It's something special. We've seen rain before but it's just the best surface to race on.'
