"I didn't want to send her back to Ballarat to target a couple of races in Sydney and I spoke to Matt, who we have a fantastic relationship with, and he was very understanding," Lupton said. "We thought rather than send her all the way back to Ballarat we might as well go straight to Sydney."
While Lupton contemplated campaigning Etah James himself or transferring her to the care of a New Zealand trainer, the economics of an Australian-based trainer won out.
"I contemplated taking her over myself, but logistically it is a nightmare and I am in the middle of moving and rearranging houses," he said.
"Then I was going to get a local to take her, but it's actually a lot more expensive to send her over from here with a local trainer because you have got to have riders, accommodation and everything that goes with it."
Lupton was pleased with Etah James' run in the Auckland Cup.
"It's as good an Auckland Cup field as we have had in a long time and it was the fastest Cup in 10 years.
"I was happy with Shaun's [McKay, jockey] ride because I instructed him to do what he did. The only thing I would have been happier with is if he had pushed on and gone to the front. When she gets to the front she is very tough to get past.
"But we thought she went so well at Auckland and I have never seen a horse come through it like she did.
"She was bouncing around the next day. She is at Karen Fursdon's at the moment. Karen is looking after her for me until she flies out next Monday night.
"Hopefully we will get into the Sydney Cup and have a crack at that. We might look at the Chairman's [Group 2, 2600m] the week before the Sydney Cup as well." Etah James is 41st in order of entry for the Sydney Cup, but Lupton is confident she will take her place in the field next month.
"She has got 50 kilos at the moment and that was another reason I thought if we get her over there those guys have got access to all the light weight riders," he said.
- NZ Racing Desk
