News

Wayne Hawkes: Locals to step up in Cup

5th Nov 2012

Sportal - Wayne Hawkes - Monday, 5 November 2012

Well we are certainly flying the Australian flag against the international raiders in this year's Melbourne Cup.

What a great thrill it is to have two runners in the race that stops a nation - Maluckyday and Niwot - and even prouder that they are two of the few home grown horses in the race.

Incredibly 18 of the 24 horses are either imported gallopers now trained locally or international horses trained overseas so we have got two of the six genuine locals in the race.

And Niwot, along with Pat Carey's Ethiopia, is one of just two Australian bred horses in the race with our other contender Maluckyday having been bred in New Zealand.

I would love to send the internationals home packing with their tails between their legs on Tuesday but it is going to be tough given the quality and depth of this year's field.

But I know one thing and that is my two horses are definitely proven at the distance and will run the 3200m right out while we know that plenty of others won't.

Maluckyday is ready to run the race of his life on Tuesday.

He was sensational in the Geelong Cup when running a fast finishing fifth off a slow pace and it was the ideal trial for the Melbourne Cup.

Everyone remembers his magnificent second behind Americain in the 2010 Melbourne Cup and this time last year he was fighting for his life with pneumonia.

We almost lost him but it has been a fantastic effort by the horse and everyone connected with our stable to not only nurse him back to health but get him to the stage where he is again ready to have a genuine crack at winning our greatest race.

Our other runner Niwot (pictured with John & Michael Hawkes) is also one courageous horse having recovered from a serious knee injury three years ago and he is one of the few proven 3200m horses in the race having won this year's Sydney Cup.

But I must admit I was disappointed with his Caulfield Cup run when he finished 12th behind Dunaden, although he was only beaten by five and a half lengths.

However he has trained on really well since then and we are really happy with his progress.

It's hard to describe what it would mean to win Tuesday's Melbourne Cup especially with two horses that have had to fight back from career threatening setbacks like Niwot and Maluckyday.

But after a couple of runner-up finishes in big races with All Too Hard in the Cox Plate and Jolie Bay in the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Derby Day - since our Caulfield Guineas win with All Too Hard - it would be fantastic to go one better on Cup Day.

Niwot (Galileo-Too Darn Hot) was purchased by Team Hawkes for $200,000 at the 2006 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale