The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival covers 50 days of champagne racing culminating in the group 2 $351,000 TMB Printing Sandown Classic to be run Betfair Park Sandown's Hillside track on Saturday, November 14.

As the Melbourne Racing Club bookends the carnival with horses from around Australasia and the world competing for about $41 million in prizemoney, Sandown is again playing a pivotal role as home for the international contingent.

The quarantine stations at Sandown have hosted two batches of visitors from the northern hemisphere with a total of 10 raiders, but the two that contested the BMW Caulfield Cup proved disappointing and the early arrival, Jolie Shinju, from Singapore has not, as yet, measured up.

Godolphin's Crime Scene faded to finish sixth in last Wednesday's Geelong Cup and Luca Cumani's Basaltico ran on from last to finish seventh and looks better suited by more ground.

This Saturday is considered by purists as the finest day of racing on the Australasian calendar and one of the major international days.

The main event is the 155th running of the group 1 $1,510,000 AAMI Victoria Derby and the exciting Shamoline Warrior will take a power of beating.

The Spring Racing Carnival concludes on November 14 with the group 2 $351,000 TMB Printing Sandown Classic (2400m) on Sandown's Hillside track.