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Under-the-radar Cup roughie who has been âdemolishingâ rivals
Andrew Slevison ⹠ October 29th, 2025 3:45 pm
There are a handful of international raiders who are garnering plenty of attention ahead of this yearâs Melbourne Cup.
The 3200m handicap at Flemington next Tuesday has attracted some quality overseas raiders who will bring with them many differing formlines.
Al Riffa, Presage Nocturne, Meydaan, Furthur and Onesmoothoperator, who ran in last yearâs Cup, are among the internationals who have been spoken about regularly in the build-up.
But there is one horse in particular who has piqued the interest of Leigh Jordan, the Victorian Racing Clubâs GM of racing.
He has been taken by a French-bred German raider named Flatten The Curve, who has won eight of his last 10 starts, is trained by German Henk Grewe and will be ridden by his regular hoop Thore Hammer-Hansen.
âOne international you havenât mentioned is Flatten The Curve, trained by Henk Grewe,â Jordan said on SENTrack & RSNâs Giddy Up.
âI know heâs a bit of a roughie but since Henk took over the horse heâs never lost a race on turf. He was in the Belmont Gold Cup when they changed to dirt and he obviously didnât handle it.
âThore Hammer-Hansen is a boar. And that horse has got really good form, he could fly under the radar a bit.
âA bit of a roughie there.â
Flatten The Curve is currently $41 with Bet365 for next weekâs Melbourne Cup.
His jockey, German-born Hammer-Hansen, is little known down under.
The 25-year-old dominates German racing having won the past two jockeysâ championships in his home country.
The superbly named Thore truly believes Flatten The Curve can provide a hammer blow to the hopes of the locals and the other internationals by winning the race that stops a nation.
âI really do,â he told Gareth Hall when asked if he thinks he can win the Cup.
âEvery test weâve put him up to, apart from the dirt, heâs come out even better after.
âHeâs been demolishing the fields. It will be interesting to see how he compares to international runners now.â
SENTrackâs Hall suggested Flatten The Curve shouldnât be as long as $51 with some bookmakers.
The jockey agreed.
âI donât think so either. I think heâs massively overpriced,â Hammer-Hansen said.
âI know itâs really hard to translate the form that heâs coming with but I think on the horse sheâs beaten alone and the fact that nothing has really matched him. Heâs had one tight race in a Group 2 in Berlin and he still came out on top.
âOther than that heâs just been demolishing the fields.â
Flatten The Curve is guaranteed a start in next weekâs Cup where he will carry 53.5kg.
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