Aussies get in behind game Arran

HE may be one of the many international raiders trying to take the Melbourne Cup back to Europe, but the Australian punting public have a soft spot for Prince Of Arran.

That’s because he’s had to earn his way into the Cup field the hard way two years in a row and fans admire his will to win in Australia.

Last year, Prince Of Arran booked his ticket to the big race by winning the Hotham Stakes on Derby Day before going on to run third in the Cup. His trainer Charlie Fellowes rightly thought that performance would guarantee him a Cup start in 2019 but it didn’t, so he had to find another qualifying race to win.

This year it was the Geelong Cup, where he beat True Self over 2400m.

And that’s why the Australian public have a soft spot for him — he’s a battler who punches above his weight.

“Luckily, this horse just seems to thrive on Australian racing. He loves the tracks out here,” Fellowes said.

“He loves the flat ground. He hated those big undulating tracks like Newmarket. He gets lost on them.

“We got a good draw [8] which I was very happy with.”

Fellowes thinks the different preparation this year will suit his seven-year-old better as he won’t have to come into the Cup off a quick back-up.

While Fellowes admits his horse, a $17 hope, hasn’t improved since last year, he thinks he’s got a better chance of winning.

“He seems to be peaking at the right time. He looks a picture and galloped on Saturday and was good, so it’s all systems go,” he said. “I don’t think the race [Geelong Cup] took a lot out of him. As we saw last year in the Lexus [Hotham], he only does enough. He’s not the sort of horse that wins by five lengths.”

Jockey Michael Walker has struck up a great relationship with the horse and that makes a big difference, according to Fellowes who isn’t sure who the horse to beat is.

“Cross Counter stood out last year but I don’t think one stands out this year,” he said.