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Ciaron Maher's first bid to qualify Manalapan for the Melbourne Cup was abruptly ended a fortnight ago, but he will use the Sandown Cup at the end of the spring carnival as an important pointer for next year.
One of the most discreet horses at the Werribee quarantine base for overseas raiders, Maher ambitiously tried to qualify Manalapan off the plane for the world's richest handicap via the Lexus Stakes.
The result was a weakening ninth behind Excess Knowledge at his first Australian start, but it has done little to dent the confidence of Manalapan's trainer before one of the few two-mile races on the Australian calendar on Saturday.
"It's hard to know what to take from that run," Maher said. "He had a pretty tough run and he did have to do a fair bit of work being wide and facing the breeze. He took the lead turning for home and was then swallowed up.
"He was obviously bought for the Melbourne Cup, so we'll get him out to the two miles and see how he goes."
No less than three Melbourne Cup runners will back up in the Sandown Cup, including Gai Waterhouse's top-10 finisher The Offer, as well as luckless Geelong Cup winner Almoonqith and Sydney Cup hero Grand Marshal.
All three came to Australia in the past few years with more respectable form lines than Manalapan, but Maher has forged a reputation in squeezing the best out of his team to emerge as one of the future powerhouses in the game.
"He was a horse out of form, but had obviously showed he had good ability," Maher said. "Some similar type of horses have come out here and run well. He's done well since he's been out here, he's got a bit of a coat and we had to turn it around a bit."
Maher's cups hand for 2016 already looks strong with Set Square to be more seasoned and the filly that won him a second VRC Oaks in succession, Jameka, set to flourish next year.
Even though he had three runners in the Melbourne Cup to Maher's none, Chris Waller is also looking to bounce back from disappointment in Australia's great race as his trio were given next to no chance off the back of a dawdling speed and carnage in the home straight.
Grand Marshal will have a new jockey in James McDonald after Jim Cassidy's retirement and Waller has quickly brushed off the Cup disappointment to focus on the Sandown Cup and group 2 Zipping Classic, where Who Shot Thebarman is entered.
"I was extremely disappointed for all the owners of my horses in the Melbourne Cup because they didn't get a fair go," Waller said. "I'm not just blaming interference - the race was run so slow as well. There's no one to blame.
"I'm lucky, I bounce back. There's a couple of winners on Oaks day and a group 1 winner [on Emirates Stakes day], but I feel for the owners of the group 1 horses [in a situation like the Melbourne Cup]."
