MELBOURNE - When you train a horse that has won 18 races, including eight group ones, just short of A$4.4 million ($5.3 million) in prizemoney and has claimed the honour as Champion Sprinter of the Year, the inevitable conclusion is that the horse holds a special place in your heart.
And so it is with Victorian trainer Greg Eurell and Apache Cat, who opens yet another preparation in the Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley tonight.
While it will take a Herculean performance to usurp Apache Cat from his throne, Eurell saddles up Mic Mac, a potential heir apparent, in the same A$500,000 race.
Mic Mac has won fewer races than Apache Cat has won group ones, but Eurell admits he cannot separate the stablemates in the Manikato.
It's a bit like how some cannot split AFL Grand Finalists Geelong and St Kilda tomorrow.
And compelling cases can be made for both Apache Cat and Mic Mac.
Not even a track gallop at Cranbourne on Monday provided Eurell with any evidence to suggest one of the two had an edge.
"They're very hard to split, very, very hard to split," Eurell told the Herald Sun.
"The chestnut bloke [Apache Cat] is like a machine to work, just press a button, and the other horse has come a long way in a short time."
While Apache Cat boasts four wins from his eight first-up runs, his past couple of fresh runs have been below his best - a fact that Eurell has concentrated on rectifying.
"We've really got him wound up as best we can. If it's just match practice that he lacks, well, there's not much we can do about that," Eurell said.
"I think we've done enough with the variety and strengthened his workload to have him forward enough. We know he likes racing at the Valley. I don't think we can do any more."
Eurell aborted pursuing a Cox Plate with Mic Mac after he finished second behind Whobegotyou in the Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley earlier in the month.
It was a decision that caught some by surprise, but Eurell said Mic Mac had to win to give him confidence.
"While he ran a super race, we could only see that Whobegotyou was going to get better over more distance, and I still wasn't convinced that my bloke could run 2000m," Eurell said.
"If we pushed on to the 2000m and he didn't get the trip, then we didn't have a lot to fall back to for the rest of the spring. Once you are at the distance, it is hard to drop back."
Eurell said Mic Mac had taken no harm from his latest run. The 4-year-old has progressed so well that it has enabled Eurell to change direction without any real drama.
"He's rock-hard fit, we haven't had to do much with him. What I've seen in the last couple of mornings, he's as good as gold."
Mic Mac might have a fitness edge but, as Eurell noted, balancing the scales is that Apache Cat is a proven performer at the elite level.
What will not surprise Eurell is if Apache Cat and Mic Mac are racing side by side in the run and they make their move at the same time.
As to who will win, Eurell says it's just too close to call.
MELBOURNE - When you train a horse that has won 18 races, including eight group ones, just short of A$4.4 million ($5.3 million) in prizemoney and has claimed the honour as Champion Sprinter of the Year, the inevitable conclusion is that the horse holds a special place in your heart.
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