Racing: Mahrajaan’s path to Melbourne Cup to start without expected glory at Ruakaka

Mahrajaan winning the Group 3 New Zealand Cup (3200m).

The road to Australia’s greatest race will start without any expected glory for Mahrajaan at Ruakaka today.

In fact, co-trainer Shaune Ritchie wouldn’t be surprised if the Auckland Cup winner finishes last in the open 1400m.

But his race won’t actually end then.

Mahrajaan is starting down the path to the Melbourne Cup, a race that has come on the radar of the former European stayer after he won both the Auckland and New Zealand Cups last season.

All three of those Cups are 3200m, which makes today’s race about 1800m short of Mahrajaan’s best and Ritchie knows how that ends.

“We are training him for a Melbourne Cup so he will be way too dour for a 1400m, although he would be no matter how we trained him,” he says.

“He could finish last or maybe second last but I will tell Ngakau [Hailey, the jockey] to ride him through the line and keep asking him to go until around the back straight.

“That will make it more of a hit out for him and then he can come back here for a 2200m race next month and then we can head to Melbourne.”

With the Melbourne Cup becoming an international race, Ritchie, who trains in partnership with Colm Murray, realises Mahrajaan may not have the outright class to win the November 5 classic but he will let the horse’s form determine his spring.

“Obviously if he isn’t going well enough he won’t start in the Cup, but at this stage it is the target and we bought him to do something like this.

“I want his owners to have that experience, even though some already have, and they do pay back to 10th so he doesn’t have to win it to make money.” Ritchie and Murray will also have Nereus (race 5, No 4) in today’s race and while he too is a stayer short of his best distance he could sprint well fresh.

“I can see him developing into the quarterback for our team over the next two years, he is a really good horse.

“He could come out and go a better race than we might expect.” The race also sees Queen Elizabeth Cup winner Trust In You returning with Cup races on his agenda – but with so many stayers in the race, it opens the door for Shamus and Pippy, who are fit and better suited by the 1400m.

Today’s highlight on the Ruakaka track that improved to a Good 4 yesterday is the $100,000 Cambridge Stud Breeders Stakes, which has drawn an even field, although When Stars Align and Wiskey N Roses were withdrawn yesterday.

That slightly smaller field could aid So Naive and Maracatu, who look really good 3-year-olds in the making, but a lot could come down to tempo in the middle stages and whether the rail being in the true position aids those on the pace.

Today’s other domestic meeting is at New Plymouth, which features the $80,000 Interprovincial, while the New Zealand reps for the Australian spring start rolling out today.

They will be headlined by Aegon, who faces the outside draw in the Lawrence Stakes over 1400m at Caulfield, a meeting where Bellatrix Star and Gentian Blue will also fly the New Zealand flag.