3 minute read
Gelding in flying form ahead of third Melbourne Cup attempt
He is absolutely cracking form. He had a nice blow on Saturday and Aled was very happy with him and he is in his usual happy perfect form, eating well and moving good. It looks like the weather has been on our side and the Melbourne Cup will be on quick ground for once, which I think we will like.
Jamie seems very calm and says she is really looking forward to the race. We know what we want to do, barrier 1 is not an issue at all. We need to use as little petrol as possible in the first half of the race and that barrier allows us to do that, which makes it so easy. Have been so impressed with Jamie, everytime you speak to her she just seems like such a lovely person and has been so easy to deal with. It can’t be easy riding for someone in such a big race you have never met before, but she really is just a complete professional and I just really want her to do well.
It is a very good race this year and considering everything that has happened in the world this year, it’s quite remarkable. Anthony Van Dyck is an Epsom Derby winner, Sir Dragonet was favourite for the Derby after his win in the Chester Vase and Irish Derby runner-up Tiger Moth, there is no denying that it is a very high quality field this year. But in saying that, I do think it is also very open. You can pick holes in every single horse in the race. I don’t think there is one horse in there that ticks every single box - so it is going to be an interesting race for sure. If any horse that stands out to me is Surprise Baby, he's had a very unusual preparation, having only been seen twice since the race last year - I am very intrigued to see how he runs.
Obviously, not being very sad. I would give anything to be out there at the moment. I love Melbourne, I love everything about the Melbourne Cup and I love the way that they do it and it will definitely be strange watching it from afar. But apart from that most other things have been normal. In terms of Prince Of Arran he is very straightforward and therefore very easy to train from over and I don’t need to be out there and Aled who is down there with him is so switched on and I know he is in the best hands in my absence.
I wish I was down there obviously and it will be strange getting up really early and watching the race from home, but we are living in a strange time and there is a lot worse going on in the world than me not being able to get to Australia and watch the Melbourne Cup. To be honest, it is just incredible that we’ve got there at all, a couple of months ago that looked unlikely, so just to be there with a chance is massive in itself given what is currently going on in the wider world, so I’m not going to complain too much.
Winning the Melbourne Cup would be a dream come true, but winning it with this horse would be unbelievable. I love training racehorses and I think the part I love the most is getting to know their personalities. I wish everyone could get to know Prince Of Arran and you would know what an amazing, incredible, kind, funny and loving character he is and I just feel like a horse with his personality deserves a big race like this. He is a real star and I cannot emphasize enough what he has done for me as a trainer. He has been with us since the beginning and he has had the biggest influence on my training career without a shadow of a doubt.
Back in England he doesn’t really get any credit, he really is just a horse. But in Australia they adore him and that is so nice. If he was a miserable bugger I wouldn’t quite like it so much, but the fact he is adored in Australia and he is who he is it’s just very special and he really is a very special horse. If he could win the Melbourne Cup, it would not only be absolutely massive for me and my yard, but it would be fantastic for the horse himself. We need everything and more to go right and in all likelihood we will talk after the race and he wouldn’t have won a Melbourne Cup, but even having horses good enough to run in these races is very, very special and that’s why we do it. With all due respect to Wolverhampton and Lingfield, I didn’t take out a trainers licence to go and win races there, I took out a trainers licence to target races like this and Prince Of Arran has allowed me to do that and so early on in my career and I will always have him to thank for allowing me to pursue my dream.
Just to have a horse who is as sound mentally and physically as Prince Of Arran and to be able to produce him three years in a row for a Melbourne Cup is amazing and I don’t see any reason why we won’t be back there again next year.
