Two of our leading Melbourne Cup hopes flew out to Australia today against the backdrop of Covid-19, which rules out on course fanfare on race day.
Cambridge duo Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman are used to plotting successful trans-Tasman raids from their Waikato headquarters, and horses Quick Thinker and The Chosen One make up half the New Zealand trained cup contingent this season.
Even though the pandemic has claimed more than 560 lives in Victoria, Baker is tipping the Melbourne Cup will still be run in early November.
“I think they will be dying in the birdcage and they still wouldn't call it off. It's the biggest day in Australia,” he said.
But neither Baker nor Forsman, who've won the New Zealand Training Premiership three of the past four seasons, will make it to Melbourne as they simply can't afford four weeks of quarantine away from their busy training base.
So travelling forewoman Aliesha Legg will pinch hit from Sydney.
“We're lucky to have Aleisha over there who knows the ropes and the ins and outs, and it's really just a matter of following the same processes,” Forsman says.
Watch 1 NEWS sports reporter Stephen Stuart’s preview of their chances in the video above.
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