KEY POINTS:
For champion Australian trainer Lee Freedman it'll be a relief just to have a Melbourne Cup runner this year.
For part-owner and former trainer Karen Zimmerman, based at Otaki, north of Wellington, a top three finish by King Of Ashford in today's Saab Quality (2500m) at Flemington will
realise her dream of having a runner in Tuesday's big race.
That dream looked unlikely for much of 2007 after Zimmerman, who trained the gelding for 10 wins in New Zealand, and fellow owner Gerry Arber of Palmerston North, accepted a hefty offer from Freedman stable clients last December.
Zimmerman and Arber retained a 10 per cent share between them.
But the Freedman magic took time to rub off as his spring formline read: eighth, 10th, and then last in the Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield on October 13.
Only at his last start, a fast-finishing fifth in the Coongy Handicap (2000m) at Caulfield on October 20, did King Of Ashford look a worthy Melbourne Cup chance.
"I think Lee was getting pretty frustrated with him but he went a much better race last start," Zimmerman said yesterday.
"He's just needed a few runs and by all accounts he's come along very well. It would be awesome to get a runner."
Zimmerman always thought King Of Ashford would be a Cup chance since his huge run for fifth in the group two Sandown Classic (2400m) in Melbourne a year ago, which made the Freedman camp take notice.
King Of Ashford isn't yet qualified but a top three finish today would satisfy the criteria.
And with a handicap of 52.5kg, he certainly has enough weight to guarantee a Cup start.
He was heavily backed into $6.50 for the Saab on TAB Sportsbet in Australia last night and shortened from $151 to $101 for the cup itself.
"He's always been able to settle really well and I think 3200m would be okay for him," Zimmerman said.
"If he gets a start I'll have to think about getting on a flight [to Melbourne]."
Freedman, a five-time Melbourne Cup winner, hasn't had the staying horse power this year and has the out-of-form New Kid In Town and Chilean galloper Cefalu trying to qualify with a win in the Saab.
Unlike King Of Ashford, the rest of the Saab runners on the fringe of the cup need to win tomorrow to gain automatic entry.
That includes The Fuzz, another Kiwi sold this year to a powerful Australian stable.
The Fuzz, who is trained by David Hayes and is 26th in order of entry, has hit form at the right time.
- NZPA