Two years after missing out on the Melbourne Cup, English stayer Gatewood is back for another shot.

Part-owned by Australia's OTI Racing, Gatewood won the 2012 Geelong Cup but his 1kg penalty was not enough to promote him into the Melbourne Cup.

Gatewood stayed in Australia where he was trained by Chris Waller but the entire failed to acclimatise to Australian conditions.

He returned to the stable of John Gosden in England and his form has been impeccable.

Gatewood is assured of a Melbourne Cup start at 15th in the order of entry for the 24-horse field.

After staying home in 2012, Gosden has travelled to Melbourne to oversee the final stages of Gatewood's preparation.

He said the 36 hours of travel from London had taken its toll on Gatewood.

"He's still a little bit tucked, so in that respect I'm glad we're not running him before the Cup," Gosden said.

"He's in good form, he's moving well. I'm happy with the facility here and the quarantine."

Gosden said going straight into the Melbourne Cup without having a run was best for Gatewood.

But he conceded it was a bold decision to come back to Australia.

"The idea was to come to this quarantine," Gosden said.

"He's won a nice race straight out of it, so we thought come back, have one run in the Cup and then go home."