Melbourne Cup hope Antiquarium is a late entry in the Group Two Goodwood Cup for Godolphin.

Leading Sydney jockey James McDonald rode Antiquarium to win the Northumberland Plate which marked the four-year-old as a contender for Australia's most famous race.

"He just seems in good order and he wouldn't look out of place in the line-up," trainer Charlie Appleby said.

"He is the sort of horse that we might look towards the Melbourne Cup with, but for us to do that he needs a bit of clarity behind him first.

"The Goodwood Cup seems like a good race for him to have a go at."

Last year's Goodwood Cup winner Big Orange is also among the 17 nominations for Thursday's feature.

McDonald, who is spending the Australian winter in England, rode Big Orange to win the Group Two Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month.

After last year's Goodwood Cup, Big Orange went on to finish an excellent fifth in the Melbourne Cup before being narrowly denied in the Dubai Gold Cup.