Before the European wave of stayers arrived to target Australia’s big handicaps, punters were on alert for the New Zealanders—who often proved the key threats.
Saturday’s The Bart Cummings (2500m) at Flemington offers a coveted ‘win and you’re in’ pass to the Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 4, and of the 17 acceptors, nine are European-bred, three are Australian, and five hail from New Zealand.
Of those five Kiwi-breds, three run for New Zealand stables—two of them having already campaigned in Melbourne this prep—while the fresh face is Trav, this year’s Auckland Cup winner, who can cement his Cup path by scoring on Saturday.
Trav is trained by Raymond Connors, a former amateur jumps rider in New Zealand who once rode for Kevin Myers—no stranger to Australian raids.
“We’ve come a long way and it’s great to be here, but we’ll see how we go on Saturday,” Connors said at Flemington on Friday morning.
“We might be going home pretty quick too, but hopefully the horse runs well.
“It’s funny how things evolve over time, from the beginning, to now, it’s a bit of a dream.”
Nicknamed Trav as a weanling by Connors’ staff—who figured he’d be the one they’d travel with—the moniker stuck. A winner of six from 28, he put the Melbourne Cup on the radar after his March triumph in the Auckland Cup.
“He was rising six at the time and we thought we’d give him the opportunity,” Connors said.
“It’s always been a dream to get a horse into the Melbourne Cup and none of us are getting any younger, so we thought we might as well give it a go.
“This horse might not be up to it, but we might not get another chance. He seems to stay the distance. He’s run the two miles twice and run it well.”
Connors expects Trav to improve third-up on Saturday before likely pressing to the Geelong Cup on October 22 for another shot at a ballot exemption.
Fellow Kiwi Mark Twain secured his ‘Golden Ticket’ last year by winning The Roy Higgins at Flemington, but a tendon injury ended the Melbourne Cup dream for trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood, with the horse sent to Matthew Williams at Warrnambool for rehab.
“It was a bit gutting having got the ‘Golden Ticket’ last year through the Roy Higgins and not being able to run in the race,” Wellwood said.
“He’s a very sound and healthy horse now and it’s nice to be back in a position where we’re looking at being a chance of heading down the Melbourne Cup path, but we need to get a couple more runs out of the way first.
“To win The Bart Cummings, or if we head to the Geelong Cup after this, would also be great, but the Melbourne Cup is always the dream and that’s the path he’s on.
“Hopefully he can go a couple of nice races at his next two starts and line-up on the first Tuesday in November in good order.”
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