Vigor, part-owned in Canberra by Jason Mathie, remains 28th in the Melbourne Cup order of entry, four outside a guaranteed start in Tuesday's race.

But two of the horses in front of him in the ballot order Gallions Reach (24th) and Capecover (26th) are likely to withdraw from the Cup following tough runs at Bendigo.

Gallions Reach finished fifth yesterday, two placings ahead of Capecover but Racing Victoria's chief handicapper Greg Carpenter believed the pair would likely head for the paddock.

Carpenter, who was at the Bendigo meeting, described their runs as ''torrid''.

''I'd imagine the chances of them pushing on to Flemington in less than a week may now be finished,'' he said.

''That would certainly increase Vigor's prospects of lining up in the Melbourne Cup but a lot still can happen between now and the final acceptances on Saturday evening.''

Vigor, this year's Caulfield Cup third-place getter, is entered in Saturday's Group1 Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

A win in that race would guarantee him a Melbourne Cup berth.

But his trainer Danny O'Brien doesn't want to run the horse, fearing he is incapable of racing Saturday and then successfully backing up three days later in a Melbourne Cup.

Ideally, enough horses above Vigor in the Cup ballot would have withdrawn by Saturday, saving the connections a decision on whether or not to contest the Mackinnon.

O'Brien's stable representative Matt Harrington said a decision on Vigor's immediate racing future would be made on the weekend.

Harrington said the horse ''physically doesn't need to run on Saturday'' and that if he did, it would purely be for qualification purposes, not fitness reasons.