Aidan O'Brien reveals sole Melbourne Cup contender as he targets Australia's biggest race for first time in four years

Aidan O'Brien has handed the baton to Jan Brueghel in his bid for a first success in the Lexus Melbourne Cup and the unbeaten St Leger winner is set to go into quarantine shortly with a view to tackling the Flemington showpiece. 

O'Brien is responsible for six of the Melbourne Cup entries but has revealed Jan Brueghel is likely to be his sole representative in the race he went closest to winning in 2017 and 2020 when Johannes Vermeer and Tiger Moth were both beaten into second by horses trained by his son Joseph. 

Tiger Moth and the ill-fated Anthony Van Dyck were O'Brien's last runners in the Melbourne Cup in 2020, but he is set to bridge the four-year gap when Jan Brueghel bids to make it five from five at Flemington on November 5. The son of Galileo is priced between 12-1 and 16-1, with the Willie Mullins-trained Vauban the 8-1 favourite with most firms.