[brockguy]

actually looking back on his form, i mightnt be giving mahler the credit he deserves, but i still think his lack of a gear will hurt him in the race..
interesting quotes from Fallon from last years racingpost::

A HIGH-CLASS stayer in Europe but not quick enough for the demands presented on the first Tuesday of November at Flemington. That was Kieren Fallon's verdict on Yeats, after the Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup winner had faded from the lead to finish only seventh behind the historic Japanese one-two in yesterday's Emirates Melbourne Cup.
Fallon, who later excelled when winning the Listed Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes on the David Hayes-trained Polar Bear, went into yesterday's big race convinced that Yeats had the right combination of stamina and speed to give Ireland its third win in the race.
But he was in a very different frame of mind after the event, after Yeats had surrendered quite tamely early in the straight, having gone to the front over half a mile out.
The race was won by trainer Katsuhiko Sumii, who sent out Delta Blues to beat stablemate Pop Rock and further advertise the strength of racing in their homeland.
Jamie Poulton's 200-1 outsider Land 'N Stars fared best of the British raiders, storming down the home straight under John Egan to take fifth place. Glistening was tenth and Geordieland just 18th under Frankie Dettori.
Fallon said: "We thought we had the right horse for the race, but we were wrong. This is a very different type of race to ride in than most staying races in Europe. At home, the pace in such races builds gradually and increases all the way. But they rode two races in one out there today, and a genuine stayer like Yeats is not what's required.
"What's needed is a good-class mile-and-a-half horse, or maybe even a mile-and-a-quarter horse. You have to have speed for this race and Yeats, at this stage of his career, didn't have the kick to stay with them when they quickened early in the straight. I know that he won a Group 1 race over a mile and a half, but that was in June of last year and he has been trained for staying races this year.
"At least we've learned from today's experience, and we know the type of horse we need if we want to come back and win a Melbourne Cup - a horse with speed as well as stamina. There was no pace down the back straight and I had to go when I did. I couldn't go any sooner with such a big weight, as it would have set things up for the others."
Fallon claimed that Yeats, who missed the break slightly, had been tightened up early on, but that he was able to take up a good position after going a couple of furlongs. "The moderate pace and his big weight were the main things against him today," Fallon added.
Andrew Murphy, who headed the fourmember Ballydoyle team that brought Yeats from Ireland, reported that the five-year-old appeared "none the worse" for his exertions.
A bigger disappointment than Yeats, especially for Australian punters, was Tawqeet, the Caulfield Cup winner who had been trained by John Dunlop before joining David Hayes.
Attempting to become a third Melbourne Cup winner for Sheikh Hamdan, Tawqeet started 5-1 jointfavourite with runner-up Pop Rock, despite a scare on the eve of the race when he spread a shoe and needed poultice and bandage treatment for a hoof pricked by a nail.
Examined and passed fit by a veterinary panel early yesterday, Tawqeet finished 19th of the 23 runners, and the owner's racing manager Angus Gold said: "It was a very disappointing run. He got shuffled too far back early on and would have needed to be Pegasus and Shergar rolled into one to win from where he was. Maybe the foot issue had something to do with his performance. We will see how it is when he has cooled down. As he never got into the race as such, we cannot say whether two miles was too far for him."
Efficient, winner of the Victoria Derby on Saturday, had to be scratched from the big race early yesterday morning owing to a knee injury.