There have been numerous overseas trained winners of the Melbourne Cup since Vintage Crop's historical performance in 1993, when the Irish-trained gelding became the first non Australian or NZ-prepared galloper to triumph in Australia's greatest race.

But Dermot Weld's versatile champion who contested two subsequent Melbourne Cups - was not the first foreign bred horse to win the coveted prize.

That distinction goes to the British bred Comedy King, who galloped into history more than a century ago when he took out the 1910 Cup: his success was an outlier, but in the years since Weld made the breakthrough its almost been a pre-requisite for a Cup winner to either have been trained overseas or bred in a foreign land and imported here to race as an older horse.

Just look at the list of winners after Vintage Crop and their international connections.

Twelve months later Jeune, who had won at Group 2 level in England over 2400 metres, won for David Hayes after arriving from the UK.

In 2002 Weld won the race for a second time, jockey Damien Oliver recording that emotional victory on Media Puzzle just days after the death in a riding accident of his brother Jason in Perth. It was a story line that was dramatic enough to be turned into a film a few years later.

The great Makybe Diva, who won three times in a row, was foaled in England and brought to Australia as a young horse. She was a daughter of Desert King, who had proved his class by winning the Irish 2000 Guineas and Derby as a three year old.

The year after the Diva's swan song it was the turn of the Japanese to stake their claim to Flemington greatness, Delta Blues and Pop Rock providing the quinella for the Japanese industry on a day when they thoroughly outstayed their rivals.

Efficient, Viewed and Shocking did all their racing in Australia prior to their wins in 2007-08-09, but they are the last to have done so.

The 2010 winner, Americain (who saw off, amongst others, So You Think) and the 2011 hero Dunaden were both trained in France.

The 2012 scorer, Green Moon, was prepared at Lloyd Williams Mount Macedon complex, but Team Williams had bought the horse after his three year old career, where he had won three times but failed when raised in class in races in England.

In 2013 another former Newmarket trained horse, Fiorente, bought out of Sir Michael Stoute's yard, won for Gai Waterhouse, while last year it was the German-trained Protectionist, under Ryan Moore, who romped to an easy victory over the ageless English raider Red Cadeaux, who had finished second to Dunaden and Fiorente in previous attempts at the Cup.

So the statistics suggest that if a horse is not trained in Europe now, or has not been imported, its chances of winning are limited.

Of the 24 scheduled starters on Tuesday two thirds of the field fit that category, and even one of the local hopes, Criterion, has been taken on the road to Hong Kong and England to see how he measured up.

It's easier to list those who are the potential home-grown heroes in the Cup than the invaders: Criterion, Who Shot TheBarman (placed last year) Grand Marshal, Preferment, Prince of Penzance, Sertorius and Gust of Wind are the contenders who have done all, or the vast majority, or their racing in Australia.

If the definition of international this time round is restricted to those who have come to Austrlaia solely to run in the Cup and will be registered on the racebook as being trained overseas, then there are 11 contenders: Snow Sky (Sir Michael Stoute), favourite Fame Game (Yoshitada Munakata), Big Orange (Michael Bell) Hokko Brave (Yasutoshi Matsunaga), Max Dynamite (Willie Mullins) Red Cadeaux and Trip to Paris (Ed Dunlop) Sky Hunter (Saeed Bin Suroor) Quest For More (Roger Charlton) and Kingfisher and Bondi Beach (Aidan O'Brien).

GUIDE TO THE INTERNATIONALS

Snow Sky ran well in the Caulfield Cup but has it all to do with top weight of 58kg, and while he has won at 2800 metres he is unproven at 3200 metres, the Cup trip.

Fame Game is the hot favourite and as a Japanese stayer must be respected. He has won twice over even further than the Cup trip, scoring in Japan at 3400 metres, and will have the services of Hong champion rider, the Australian Zac Purton, who won the Caulfield Cup on the ill-fated Admire Ratki last year.

Big Orange is trained at Newmarket and will be ridden by Irishman Jamie Spencer, who won the Mackinnon Stakes on Side Glance on Derby day two years ago. Big Orange has won over the trip in England, but has not run since performing disappointingly behind rival Max Dynamite at York in mid August.

Hokko Brave will be partnered by champion Australian rider Craig Williams, who has won the Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup and Golden Slipper but has yet to win a Melbourne Cup. His mount should stay, having been narrowly beaten in Japan's top two mile race, the Tenno Sho, earlier in his career.

Max Dynamite is perhaps the most interesting of all contenders. Bought primarily to be a jumper, seven of his last nine runs have been over hurdles, but his win in the Lonsdale Cup, when he beat Trip to Paris and Big Orange, gives him a top chance here.

Red Cadeaux needs no introduction. One of the most popular horses to ever run in the Cup, he has finished second three times. Should he win the VRC might need to invest in a new grandstand roof.

Trip to Paris is Red Cadeaux's stablemate and could well inherit his globetrotting mantle when the old boy finally retires. A winner over 4000 metres of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, Ed Dunlop's charge also ran a slashing second in the Caulfield Cup last start.

Sky Hunter, the Godolphin representative,has really flown under the radar. The lightly raced son of English Derby winner Motivator has only run three times in the past year, but one of them was a win over 2400 metres in Dubai during the World Cup Carnival there early in the year. Had a pipe opener at Newbury in September before flying to Melbourne.

Quest For More won one of England's top staying handicaps, the Northumerbland Plate, late in June and earmarked himself as a stayer of promise in so doing. He beat Max Dynamite that day and then ran a close second to Big Orange over 3200 metres at Goodwood. But he was a big disappointment in the Geelong Cup in his lead up race in Victoria.

Kingfisher is from the all conquering Aidan O'Brien stable in County Tipperary and will stay ever yard of the trip. Narrowly beaten, when very unlucky, in the Ascot Gold Cup over 4000 metres he was, however, well beaten at his subsequent start behind stable companion Order of St George in the Irish St Leger at The Curragh in September.

Bondi Beach is also from the O'Brien yard at Ballydoyle and he is still a three year old to Northern Hemisphere time. Controversially won the Group One English St Leger on protest from the filly Simple Verse after finishing narrowly behind her at Doncaster, and then lost the race several weeks later on appeal. Should stay the trip, has little weight and, like Kingfisher, was bought into by Lloyd Williams who loves nothing more than to win the Melbourne Cup.