Melbourne Cup winner nommed for 1200m race? All part of the plan, says trainer Danny O'Brien

There were some bemused onlookers that saw Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare and stablemate Young Werther - who placed in a G1 Champions Stakes this season - lob in the entries for a 1200m sprint at Flemington on Saturday.

But perhaps the most bemused of all was their trainer Danny O'Brien at the suggestion it was an administration blunder.

Clarifying the situation, O'Brien said the pair were never going to the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes over 2800m - the $500,000 feature of Saturday's card that offers ballot-exemption to the Melbourne Cup - instead he's entered them in the Straight Six as a back-up option for a 'quasi jump-out' ahead of the Brisbane winter carnival.

"They're just there [in the 1200m entries] in case they need a jump-out really," O'Brien told Punters.

"We haven't decided if they're going to run. They haven't raced for a while.

"They're potentially heading up to Brisbane so there's not many options to give them a hit-out other than that 1200m Listed race."

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The pair most recently raced in the G1 Australian Cup, with Vow And Declare (4th) comfortably ahead of his stablemate Young Werther (7th).

O'Brien had a chuckle at the idea his horses had ended up in the entries of the wrong race, indicating that the 2800m of the Ramsden isn't their go anymore.

"Young Werther doesn't run past 2000m anymore, we decided that a long time ago," the Cup-winning trainer said.

"And Vow won't either, he's been kept to a mile-and-a-quarter prep so there wasn't any intention of going to the Ramsden.

"They're both probably going to end up in the Doomben Cup on Saturday week."