Osborne To Weight And See Over Dettori

Frankie Dettori may have to shed the odd pound to get down to the necessary weight to ride Geordieland in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.

However, trainer Jamie Osborne is confident the Italian will make the 54kg (8st 7lb) the horse has been allotted for the Flemington showpiece.

'I am assured by Frankie that he will be at the weight,' said Osborne.

Under Melbourne Cup regulations a jockey can ride 1kg overweight up to 51.5 and 0.5kg overweight up to 54.

But Osborne must have his concerns as he has already made a contingency plan should Dettori, fresh from a double at the Breeders' Cup, not meet the requirement.

'At this moment in time I think it will be Kerrin McEvoy,' Osborne said, when asked who would be replacing Dettori should he not make the weight.

'It would be ideal to have that in the back of our head.'

Being the number one jockey for the Godolphin stable, Dettori rarely has to ride at below 57kg (9st), and will need to shed some weight if he is to take the ride on the English stayer.

McEvoy, who won the Melbourne Cup on Brew in 2000, was to ride Godolphin horse Imperial Stride, but the six-year-old had a setback and missed the Caulfield Cup before running below average in the Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington on Saturday.

Vanquished had been another possible Cup ride for McEvoy had he won the Saab Quality at Flemington, but he finished third and failed to obtain entry into the field.

While McEvoy failed to ride a winner at Flemington on Saturday, Dettori enjoyed a big-race double in the Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs on Ouija Board and Red Rocks.

'I was delighted to hear of that,' Osborne said.

'When Frankie's on song he's one of the best riders in the world. He's always been very keen to come here and ride this horse.'

(C) PA Sport