Melbourne Cup: Top Kiwi prospect waiting for countdown

Trainer Kevin Gray might be more comfortable on his Manawatu farm than in the thick of Melbourne Cup fever, but he accepts there's no escaping the hype.

His prized mare Daffodil is the most favoured of the New Zealand runners in tomorrow's big race and even at 5am today she was in the spotlight.

"I've never seen so many cameras," he said after the early morning gallop.

The Australians all have opinions on the four-year-old's prospects after her fourth placing in the Caulfield Cup last month, but Gray said the Daffodil camp, including the Chittick family who owns her, was thrilled with her condition and it was now a case of simply "waiting for the countdown".

He's never been one to talk a horse up, but said her preparation was spot on.

"I think she looks a million dollars and provided she does everything right in the birdcage and doesn't sweat up ... she has just thrived since she's been here."

Gray said the big question being asked of Daffodil was whether or not she could cope with the 3200m distance.

Being out of a sprinter-miler mare and by a miler stallion suggests otherwise, but he has his own take on it.

"I said she has got a mile and a half - twice - and won good races.

"She's run on in all her races, she has come from the back ... she doesn't know what she's by, and the thing is when you're training horses, it's the way they are looked after, the way they are fed and just the way you prepare them for it.

"You can get a horse that is bred to stay and is a top stayer, but if you haven't trained him for it, he won't stay."

Daffodil starts tomorrow from a wide barrier (21), but Gray said history showed that slot hadn't stopped several horses winning and that it presented extra options of going forward or back, or slotting in to the field.

"You've got two or three options, but if you're drawn one you've only got one option - try and get a good run and watch they don't crowd you out or push you back."

In terms of the Flemington track, he said it was likely to be firmer than what would be ideal, but the lush grass cover would help. "It's a beautiful track."

A Melbourne Cup win would be a high in a long and successful career for 72-year-old Gray, but he said the fact that Daffodil had genuinely earned her place in the field, including winning this year's AJC Oaks, was a thrill on its own.

"Anyone could win in that field, and if you don't get the good run it's all over red rover.

"But to have a horse in the Melbourne Cup and all the hype that goes with it ... I'm very proud."

It was decades ago that Gray started out in the business, breaking-in and pre-training horses in Waverley, between Wanganui and Hawera.

He then got his own licence to train and set up Copper Belt Lodge, named after one of his own early purchases, Copper Belt which was trained by Brian Deacon and won 23 of his 54 starts.

His stable grew to 60 horses when his son Stephen joined in, but the younger Gray successfully applied to train in Singapore and has been there for about eight years.

He has trained over 300 winners there and continues to go from strength to strength, Gray said.

That success means he is unlikely to return to New Zealand any time soon and Gray senior will continue to run Copper Belt Lodge, which he shifted in recent years to a 100 hectare block west of Palmerston North.

Gray has no issues about the demands of running an operation of 40 horses and 14 staff.

He also runs cattle on the farm and has no plans to slow down any time soon.

"I just hope I can keep my health and hang in there for another seven or eight years.

"I'm happy to have my health, good owners and to give them the best - that's what you do."

- NZPA