CONNECTIONS of all three Irish-trained runners in next Tuesday’s Emirates Melbourne Cup are talking up their chances of success.

Bondi Beach (10/1), Heartbreak City (12/1) and Wicklow Brave (14/1) are all among the top six in the betting for the A$6 million race, the trio having travelled well to Australia and impressed the locals in the lead-up to ‘the race that stops a nation’.

Heartbreak City’s trainer Tony Martin made his first appearance at the Werribee quarantine facility outside Melbourne on Friday morning and confirmed that his impressive Ebor Handicap winner was in tip-top condition.

“He did a right good piece of work at Navan before he went into quarantine and then another good bit at Newmarket which I was very happy with,” Martin revealed.

“He handled the travel well and didn’t run up light, he looks well and my lads here have been very happy with him. All we want now is to avoid bad luck on Tuesday.”

Martin believes his charge will develop into a “proper Group 1 horse” and is already on a par with the other European runners in this year’s Cup.

Heartbreak City is set to carry 4lb less than Bondi Beach and Wicklow Brave, and 6lb less than the British-trained top-weight Big Orange.

Top jockey Joao Moreira jetted in from Hong Kong to partner Heartbreak City in a racecourse spin on Saturday morning. He said: “He felt great, like a horse ready to go out there and perform well. His form says he has a huge chance of winning. I am pretty excited about how he will go.

"With my feet on the ground, I know this is a tough race to win but I can see he is very talented and I think we have a good enough horse to win. This was the only horse I was offered to ride in the race but I am more than happy to be on board as I am sure he has a winning chance. I wouldn’t like to be drawn ride. Anywhere from one to 10 is fine to me."

The barrier draw for the Melbourne Cup will be made on Saturday evening.

Wicklow Brave’s owner Nick Peacock is also very hopeful. He said: “You’d have to be fairly optimistic. In the Irish St Leger he appeared to beat Order Of St George fair and square and that horse went on to finish third in the Arc. Had the Arc been a handicap, and using the Australian handicapper’s weights, Wicklow Brave would have won the Arc by three lengths!”

Aidan O’Brien is not travelling to Melbourne and Bondi Beach’s preparations are being overseen by travelling head man T.J. Comerford.

Bondi Beach finished 16th in the Cup last year as a three-year-old and Comerford commented: “He’d only had five starts when he raced here last year. I’d say he’s more grown up this year and we’re very happy with him.”

The Melbourne Cup is due off at 4am Irish time on Tuesday and will be shown live on At The Races.