Bay horsewoman has big hand in great race

Justine Hales gives rising stable star Preferment a kiss after the 3-year-old won Australia's oldest race, the Victoria Derby, last Saturday. Photo / Getty Images

A southern Hawke's Bay farmers' daughter and former pupil of Woodford House in Havelock North is in line to become one of the faces of of the Melbourne Cup today.

Justine Hales, daughter of Weber farmers Peter and Margaret Hales, is the Melbourne stable foreman for Australian trainer Chris Waller, whose three cup hopes include Who Shot Thebarman.

It's one of two big New Zealand-owned hopes in the 3200m race set to start at 5pm in front of more than 100,000 people at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse.

The stable's other horses in the race are Junoob, which Miss Haynes rides in trackwork, and Opinion.

The other big New Zealand hope is Lucia Valentina, who, like Who Shot Thebarman, is also trained in Australia.

Ms Hales, 38, is unlikely to be overawed by the occasion - she's been in front of big racing crowds before, including Saturday at Flemington with rising stable star Preferment after the 3-year-old won Australia's oldest race, the Victoria Derby, despite not winning in six previous races.

"Saturday was pretty big," she told Hawke's Bay Today from Melbourne yesterday..

Looking to today's big race, she reckons Japanese entry Admire Rakti, the topweight and Caulfield Cup winner, will be toughest to beat.

She says the three Waller stable horses are all in with a chance, but her mum plumps for Who Shot The Barman, because it's owned by dairy farming family friends from Wanganui.

Despite the minimal number of New Zealand and even Australian horses in what was once effectively a Bledisloe Cup of endurance for the best transtasman stayers, it's still expected to stop the nation today.

Kiwi punters are expected to bet more than $10 million on the cup day.