Efforts to allow Japanese horses to enter Australia for this year's Melbourne Cup are gathering pace with Australian officials this week inspecting Japanese facilities.

With time fast running out it seemed unlikely Japanese horses would have the suitable approval to contest this year's historic 150th running of the Melbourne Cup in November.

But the Australian government has made some big inroads in the past weeks and on Wednesday will inspect the three Japanese quarantine facilities of Miho, Tokyo and Nakayama for approval.

Japanese horses haven't been allowed into Australia since the EI outbreak in 2007 and cutting through the red tape and protocols has been a frustrating process for Racing Victoria and the Victoria Racing Club, but the end is seemingly in sight.

Nominations for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups close on August 1 with a few Japanese trainers keen to make the trip.

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