Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Melbourne Cup may be heading out of Australia again.

A record eight European-trained horses are damping local chances of snaring the country's richest sporting prize tomorrow, raising the prospect of a third winner from the continent in 16 years, according to bookmakers.

Four of the top seven horses in the betting, headed by 4-1 favorite Mad Rush, undertook a journey lasting as long as six weeks and costing as much as A$150,000 ($100,200) to line up in the two-mile (3,200-meter) handicap. At stake at Flemington Racecourse is a first prize of A$3.3 million.

``The foreign horses look to have an absolute stranglehold,'' said Michael Sullivan, chief executive officer of bookmaker Sportingbet Australia.

Nine so-called overseas raiders were in contention until All The Good, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin Racing, withdrew at the weekend. The remaining contingent matches the largest to have crossed the equator for the A$5.6 million race.

Ireland's Vintage Crop and Media Puzzle, and Japan's Delta Blues are the only horses trained outside Australia and New Zealand to have won the Cup since it was first run in 1861.

Dermot Weld was the first northern hemisphere trainer to take home the Cup with Vintage Crop in 1993. Weld repeated the feat in 2002 before Delta Blues finished ahead of stablemate Pop Rock two years ago.

Profound Beauty

Weld has this year's third choice in Profound Beauty, which will be ridden by three-time Cup-winning jockey Glen Boss. David Phillips, Weld's head traveling stable lad, also oversaw the Melbourne preparations of Vintage Crop and Media Puzzle.

``She's a lovely big strong mare with a great gait and a great attitude,'' Boss told reporters after taking Profound Beauty through her paces three days ago. ``She's very sharp.''

The chances of a local winner dwindled last week when 2007 champion Efficient injured a fetlock and was scratched by millionaire owner Lloyd Williams. The five-year-old had been the most favored Australian-trained horse before its withdrawal.

Twelve months ago, Efficient beat out the Luca Cumani- trained Purple Moon by a half a length. The Newmarket, England- based Cumani is back this year with Mad Rush and seventh-favorite Bauer, which won the Geelong Cup leadup race.

Horses traveling from the north faced an extra week in quarantine this time after Australia toughened measures as a result of its first outbreak of equine influenza last year. They were also kept from other horses for two weeks in their home stables and forced to train in the afternoon, said Leigh Jordon, general manager of racing operations at Racing Victoria Ltd.

Extra Expense

``From a stable perspective, normal routine is in the morning for staffing,'' Jordon said in a phone interview. ``It's extra expense and puts things out.''

Francesca Cumani, Luca's daughter, arrived in Australia at the end of September to oversee the preparations of Mad Rush and Bauer. She said the family's Cup bid could be undone by anything from travel sickness and injury to stress and weight loss.

``There are so many millions of things that can come between a horse and the ultimate goal,'' she wrote Oct. 31 in the Age newspaper. ``The secret lies in prevention rather than cure. More time is spent avoiding the negatives than pushing for the positives.''

No Godolphin

Godolphin, which splits its operations between Newmarket and Dubai, will be without a runner after All The Good suffered a hairline fracture in a foreleg bone last week. The five-year-old stallion had given the stable its first Group One win in Australia in the A$2.5 million Caulfield Cup on Oct. 18.

Head trainer Saeed bin Suroor last week described All The Good as ``the right horse'' to give the organization its first Melbourne Cup victory. Godolphin has had two runner-ups and one third-placed finisher.

Second-favorite Septimus, Europe's top-rated stayer with eight victories from 12 starts, heads a trio of gallopers from Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle stables in Ireland. Honolulu and Alessandro Volta are rated outside chances to win the 148th running of the Cup.

Held on the first Tuesday of November, a public holiday in Melbourne, the race will be seen or heard on television or radio by about 85 percent of Australia's 21 million people, according to the Victoria Racing Club.

``It would mean the world to win it,'' said O'Brien, trainer of more than 140 Group One winners. ``To win a race like this, you can't describe it. Everyone wants to be here and everyone wants to experience it.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Baynes in Sydney at dbaynes@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 2, 2008 23:57 EST