Melbourne: Godolphin handlers Saeed Bin Surour and John O’Shea are intensely united in their quest to end the Dubai-owned stable’s 17-year wait for an Emirates Melbourne Cup victory and aver that their respective runners have genuine chances in Tuesday’s iconic contest.
Bin Surour has travelled 10,500 miles from his base in Newmarket, England with Sky Hunter, a lightly campaigned gallop who has posted impressive staying victories in Dubai and Ascot, while O’Shea relies on the locally-trained Hartnell, his first runner in the Cup and who says ‘will be competitive.’
The Godolphin pair face 22 rivals, including the Japanese-trained favourite Fair Game, three-time runner-up Red Cadeaux from the UK and a strong local challenge in the gruelling 3,200 metre race which is believed to watched by almost the whole of Australia.
“The fact that we have been unlucky all these years, ever since Faithful Son finished seventh in 1997, makes it a little more difficult to be confident about your horse,” Bin Surour said.
“But once the gates open on Tuesday you don’t think about what has happened in the past and just hope that your horse runs well. We need to be in the race to win it.”
As philosophical as he may be Bin Surour remains one of the most realistic trainers in the business and appreciates the extreme challenges of races like the Melbourne Cup.
Sky Hunter, who will be ridden by 2015 Dubai World Cup (G1) winning jockey William Buick, was last seen winning the Group 3 Legacy Cup at Newbury, England, six weeks ago.
The race was his only start since he landed the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March, and has helped freshen him up for the Melbourne Cup, says Bin Surour.
“His preparation was done at Newmarket and he appears to like it here, like his trainer!” said Bin Surour, flashing a rare smile.
“But we believe that he has the right profile for the race and I’m hoping he can use his superior turn of foot to good use in the final two furlongs. Will he win, we’ll have to wait and see. But I’m confident he win run a big race, he’s a very genuine sort of horse.
“It would be very special for the team and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad [Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai], if he could win, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
O’Shea, who has amassed 35 Group 1 wins in his career, remains ‘hopeful of Hartnell’s chances of pulling off a big victory in the renewal of a race that he describes as being the toughest in its 154 years.
“This has got to be one of the strongest fields assembled for the Cup and it’s not easy to have a lot of confidence going into it,” he said. “But we couldn’t have Hartnell in better condition. He’s had a faultless preparation and based on his last few runs I feel he will be competitive.”
Victoria Racing Club officials say more than 100,000 racegoers are expected at Flemington on Tuesday.
