Oarsman on Cup course
By MATT STEWART
05sep03
HE'S buried in a fringe race at the back end of tomorrow's great Flemington card, but if you believe the Kiwi mail, Oarsman could prove the most important and applauded horse in Australasia by the second week of November.
According to 2001 Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Mike Moroney, Oarsman is the real deal, a throwback to the days of tough and classy New Zealand stayers who pillaged the Melbourne Cup.
Bookmakers agree. The New Zealand mystery horse is on the second line of Melbourne Cup betting at $21, behind Media Puzzle ($11).
"He's New Zealand's best stayer and not just a plodding two-miler. He's got a great turn of foot," Moroney said.
"He could be the best chance Australasia has of beating the overseas horses in the Melbourne Cup."
That's quite a wrap and a heap of expectation.
In typical Kiwi style, Oarsman's trainer Paul Duncan is not buying into the hype.
"It's a long way to go. He's a nice stayer, but the Cup's a long way off. He was probably New Zealand's best stayer last season, but there was some query on the depth of the races," Duncan said.
Six-year-old Oarsman, who kicks off his Melbourne Cup preparation in tomorrow's Spring Is The Season Handicap (1700m), has not raced since scoring a Kiwi-like last-to-first win in the Wellington Cup (3200m) on January 25.
At his previous start, Oarsman flew home to be beaten a head in the Auckland Cup.
Like many New Zealand horsemen, Duncan has evolved into more a horse trader than trainer. The reason the Kiwis no longer dominate the Melbourne Cup is their better two and three-year-olds are invariably sold to Asia before they get near a Cups preparation.
Hence it's no surprise Duncan, who also has three-year-old Fast Light in the third race at Flemington, hasn't raced a horse here for five years.
"I sell a lot of horses, a lot more than I train. Some of them have proved good horses in places like Macau. We have to make a living somehow," Duncan said.
Oarsman was a slow learner and a late maturer. As a younger horse, he probably had little appeal to Asian buyers.
"He didn't start until he was a late three-year-old. He always showed a bit but was always going to be better as the races got longer," Duncan said.
Duncan does not expect the horse to feature in the finish tomorrow but would like some encouragement.
"I'll be looking for him to be running on. If he's a serious Cup horse, he'd want to," he said.
