Peter Moody knows a thing or two about horses.

He trained the great Black Caviar to 25 wins from as many starts and horses in his stable won more than $A115 million in prize money during an outstanding career.

Moody is now a retired trainer but remains a keen racing observer.

And he is bullish about the hopes of an overseas raider in Tuesday’s $6.2m Melbourne Cup.

“[Marmelo] is the logical favourite for mine on his Caulfield Cup run, when he stormed home from well back for sixth,” Moody wrote in a Fox Sports column.

“Unlike Tiberian and a few others, he’s had that important run in Australia.

“And he showed us he’d settled in well with his Caulfield Cup run.”

Moody said he was not worried by Marmelo drawing barrier 16, backing star jockey Hugh Bowman – who rides Winx – to claim yet another Group 1 success.

“I’ve got great respect for [the] two Hughs – trainer Morrison and jockey Bowman,” he said.

“He’s lightly raced by our standards but they train their stayers differently in Europe, so that’s not an issue.

“Nor is the wide barrier, as he’ll settle back. Very keen.”

Moody is similarly keen on Almandin, who is aiming to become the first horse to go back-to-back in the famous race since Makybe Diva won three in a row from 2003-2005.

“He won it last year of course and is going well again now, even if his last run when fourth was a bit indifferent,” he said.

“The start before when he brained ‘em over 2500m at Flemington was unbelievable.

“The barrier’s not bad, but funny as it sounds, the thing that worries me is having Frankie Dettori on his back.

Almandin pipped Heartbreak City to win the 2016 Melbourne Cup. Photo: Getty

“[He is] one of the world’s best jockeys, but he’s just never fired in Australia. Should still be thereabouts.”

Italian jockey Dettori is riding Almandin after regular jockey Damien Oliver was suspended for “improper riding” during last month’s Cox Plate.

Moody believes Wall of Fire and Amelie’s Star will run third and fourth respectively, but has doubts on other fancied types in Humidor and Johannes Vermeer, due to the Cup’s 3200m distance.

Broadcaster Matt Hill – who will call the Cup to an audience of 50 million – shares Moody’s opinion that Almandin will run a big race.

Hill told The New Daily: “I think [Almandin owner] Lloyd Williams is keen to win it back-to-back … I think he’s flying.”

Star trainer Darren Weir has three runners – Humidor, Amelie’s Star and Big Duke – running in the Melbourne Cup, but said if he couldn’t pick his own horse to win, he would “back Almandin”.

“He’s a very good stayer, he’s still reasonably well weighted and this is the race they would have set him for,” Weir told 3BA FM Ballarat.

“I think Almandin is the one to beat and my jockeys, a couple of my jockeys will be instructed to try and get on the back of him and follow him for as long as they can.”