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The biggest wave of international horses to target the Melbourne spring carnival lands in Melbourne this weekend.

Two flights carrying 27 international horses, including seven from the powerful Godolphin stable and five prepared by champion Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, will land at Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport on Saturday after a 36-hour flight from the UK.

The shipments will be transported to Racing Victoria’s Werribee International Horse Centre to commence their mandatory two-week quarantine period.

They will be joined on Monday by the high-class Japanese raiders Chestnut Coat and Sole Impact, taking the number of Werribee residents to a full house of 32 horses, the maximum permitted.

Werribee is already hosting a trio of Godolphin horses trained by Charlie Appleby including last week’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes winner Jungle Cat.

Another four Godolphin horses trained by Appleby will arrive on Saturday’s first flight, including Cups contenders Emotionless, Cross Counter and Hamada.

Regular Australian visitor Saeed bin Suroor has three Godolphin horses arriving on the first flight including Cox Plate entrant Benbatl and his G1-winning stablemate Best Solution, prominent in betting markets for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups.

The second flight carrying 19 horses includes Aidan O’Brien’s G2 winner Cliffs Of Moher; Red Verdon, who is trained by Ed Dunlop; and Withhold, Roger Charlton’s lightly-raced Northumberland Plate winner.

Some 11 horses on the second flight have been acquired by Australian connections with most to be transferred to Australian stables after completing their two weeks quarantine.

This will free up boxes at the Werribee Horse Centre for the second influx of nine overseas carnival entries who began their quarantine in the UK and Ireland on Thursday.

They are scheduled to land in Melbourne on October 13 but only eight will make the flight.

Due to the space restrictions at Werribee the horse with the lowest rating, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Master of Reality, will only board the flight should one of the other eight not travel.

The eight arrivals on October 13 will take the tally of carnival contenders to pass through Werribee this spring to 40, a record number for the spring carnival.

The highest-rated horse now in quarantine in the UK is Magic Circle, who is trained by Ian Williams for flamboyant owner Marwan Koukash.

Last year’s Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Corey Brown is booked to ride the stayer in Melbourne with his form boasting wins in the Chester Cup (3700m) and the G3 Henry II Stakes (3200m).

Others include John Gosden’s Ebor Handicap winner Muntahaa, Irish Derby first and second Latrobe and Rostropovich and Marmelo, who started favourite for last year’s Melbourne Cup after a fast-finishing sixth in the Caulfield Cup.

Trained by Hughie Morrison, Marmelo this year has won the Listed Grand Cup Stakes (2700m) and the G2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil (2800m) in France and has been runner-up in the G2 Prix Kergolay (3000m) and G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier (3000m).