KEY POINTS:
A fourth-place cheque will never feel sweeter than the one French-born Cambridge trainer Yves Seguin chases with Diamond Glitter at Ellerslie this Saturday.
As 26th on the order of entry for the $2.2 million Telecom New Zealand Derby, Seguin's roughie needs to run in the first four in
the Championship Stakes to be assured of a start.
But don't bet against Seguin's last-ditch bid despite the one-win gelding's modest formline. Seguin knows a thing or two about overcoming outside odds.
Soon after arriving here from a successful US training stint, a car smashed into the globe-trotting Seguin as he crossed a Cambridge road with a string of Chris Wood-trained runners in June, 2004.
The horse Seguin was riding was killed and the lucky-to-be-alive trainer was catapulted into the air and broke several ribs and a collarbone on landing.
Undeterred by the welcome mat, Seguin branched out on his own with a small team two years ago, quickly building a growing fan-base which includes Ascot Farm's Bruce and Maureen Harvey.
It was the Harvey-owned Kildonan that Seguin first had Derby hopes for, but the Bonecrusher Stakes winner was sold to Hong Kong with instant success.
While more of a slow-burning Derby prospect than Kildonan, Seguin is confident that Diamond Glitter, a $61 longshot with TAB bookies last night, deserves his place in the field.
Since winning his first race in December, the gelding has had no luck in two middle-distance attempts.
In a strong special conditions event over 2100m at Ellerslie he did well to finish sixth after losing a shoe and bruising a heel during a bumpy trip.
Then last time out in similar company on the same course, Noel Harris and Diamond Glitter got a nasty bump leaving the straight for the first time and the horse was never happy after that.
Harris told Seguin that the effort for 10th of 13 runners was best forgotten.
Matamata trainer Danica Guy also needs something special from 24th-ranked Carchelo in the Championship Stakes to be assured of a Derby slot.
"It would be like a dream come true to have a horse in the Derby," said Guy, who only has one horse racing at the moment.
"Just to be this close feels pretty good - I didn't think I'd be getting there this year."
An impressive second-up win over 1400m at Matamata convinced the camp the Derby wasn't just a pipe-dream.
And his three middle-distance attempts have resulted in an impressive win at Te Rapa over 2000m and two luckless runs in listed company.
'With the right ride, I'm sure the horse will get the Derby trip. I'm not saying he'll feature in the race, but he won't disgrace himself," said Guy.