John Velazquez will add plenty of spice to this year’s Melbourne Cup after it was revealed the Hall of Fame rider will partner Parchment Party, the first American-trained runner to compete in the Flemington showpiece.

There is a strong international challenge amongst the 120 nominations for the ‘race that stops the nation’ but it is Bill Mott’s wide-margin Belmont Gold Cup winner that really shows the global reach of the prestigious contest, with the four-year-old earning his ticket when scoring at Saratoga in June.