All eyes are on Australia's Melbourne Cup which will be held Tuesday afternoon with no less than British royals Prince Charles and Camilla attending the annual event.

This year's race is expected to bring in both foreign and Australian horses, many of which have good chances of bringing home the coveted Melbourne Cup.

About 100,000 people are expected to flood the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, decked in traditional race-day outfits including ornate head pieces and sun hats for women, and colourful pocket handkerchiefs for men.

It is not just Australians who are expected to watch the event, but about 700 million people in 120 countries through satellite worldwide live broadcast. The event, which has been held yearly for more than 150 years, is said to be the race that stops a nation.

The Roar expert Justin Cinque, in a preview and tip article list, listed his top 24 bets. Number one on his list is the English horse Mount Athos, which weighs 54 kilogrammes, ridden by jockey Ryan Moore.

"Mount Athos could explode with 54 kgs. The acceleration he produced with 63.5 kgs in the Silver Cup (which was when I jumped on this bloke) was something I've never seen. He lashed Brown Panther up at level weights in the Geoffrey Freer (2600m) and Brown Panther and Dunaden finished next to each other in the King George at Ascot a few weeks later, when they were ridden too close," Mr Cinque wrote in The Roar.

Rounding up the top 10 list of Mr Cinque are:

2. Dunaden, France, 59 kg

3. Mourayan, Australia (imported), 53.5 kg

4. Galileo's Choice, Ireland, 53.5 kg

5. Maluckday, Australia, 53.5 kg

6. My Quest for Peace, England, 53.5 kg

7. Lights of Heaven, Australia, 53 kg

8. Americain, France, 58 kg

9. Fiorente, Australia (imported), 54 kg

10. Zebeelionaire, Australia, 52 kg.

While Tony Rourke of Brisbane Times agreed that Dunaden and Amercain have high chances of winning, he said Weld-trained Galileo's Choice must not be ruled out.

Cups King Bart Cummings is confident of a win for either Sanagas or Precedence on Tuesday. "Precedence's trackwork has been the best of his career. He unfortunately got the visitor draw in 20. The times he has been running on the track has been great and the barrier won't stop him if he is good enough," Brisbane Times quoted Mr Cummings.

To improve the horse's chances of winning, the owners had the thoroughbreds DNA tested to know what type of horses they are. The result indicates Dunaden is a sprinter.

"We got a list of all the results and we are assessing them at the moment. I want to sit down in a couple of weeks and see how the results measure up. There was another filly in the stable that tested as a group 1 horse and she recently won a group 1, so that was promising," Brisbane Times quoted Sheikh Fahad Al Thani.

RELATED STORIES