Racing Victoria Limited will get a clearer picture later this week as to which internationally-trained gallopers will head to Melbourne for the three major spring features following the release of Cup weights on Wednesday.
RVL racing manager Leigh Jordon will speak to European-based trainers such as Aidan O'Brien, Godolphin's Saeed bin Suroor and Luca Cumani and gather their thoughts on how their horses have been handicapped.
The O'Brien yard, which will bypass the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate, supplied the two highest weighted horses for this year's Melbourne Cup, Yeats and Septimus, who were allotted 59kg and 58.5 kg respectively.
Three-time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats, who ran seventh with 59kg in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, was unlikely to run this year but Septimus was given a better chance of coming to Melbourne.
Septimus' next start is likely to be in the Irish St Leger on September 13.
Cumani has already committed Mad Rush, a last-start runner up in France at Group Two level, to a Cups campaign. Mad Rush has 53.5kg.
Another Cumani horse Bauer, owned by former Test cricketer Simon O'Donnell, has 51kg and is likely to run in the Geelong Cup on his way to Flemington.
The Godolphin-trained All The Good, who recently won the substitute race for the washed out Ebor Handicap, has been given 53kg.
"Godolphin hasn't quite confirmed they're coming but they've shown a lot of interest depending on the weights their horses received," Jordon said.
Yellowstone, a last-start third behind All The Good has 54kg for the Melbourne Cup. He is trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam - the daughter of former Liberal leader Andrew Peacock - who is reportedly keen to have a starter in the famous race.
Stablemate Traffic Guard was likely to head to Melbourne for the Cox Plate should he run in the top four in this weekend's G1 Champion Stakes in Ireland, Jordon said.
Dermot Weld, the only European-based trainer to have won the Melbourne Cup, may bring five-year-old mare Profound Beauty, who has 51.5kg for the race.