Francesca Cumani with Mad Rush, the horse she hopes to ride to Melbourne Cup glory. Photo / Getty Images
MIKE DILLON'S TOP FOUR
1. Mad Rush
2. Profound Beauty
3. Nom Du Jeu
4. Alessandro Volta
Best roughie: Honolulu
It's confirmation that the Irish are one-eyed and the Poms are blind.
Francesca Cumani says she walks around unnoticed at home in England.
You can believe that doesn't happen in Melbourne.
She's equally at home in gumboots and Italian designer shoes and has appeared in most of the
different newspaper sections on the two trips she has made Downunder to try to win the A$5.5 million Melbourne Cup for her father Luca Cumani, one of the world's finest horse trainers.
You ask her if she finds the enormous media attention distracting from her main task of winning one of the world's greatest horse races.
"Well, no, it's rather flattering really."
And it happens the same at home?
"No, I pretty much go unnoticed."
That's harder to believe than a Melbourne Cup victory by Mr Ed at Flemington this afternoon.
There is an air of sweetness about Francesca Cumani, incongruous with the often brutal scenario of trying to win a multimillion-dollar thoroughbred horse race.
She has done much of the work on the cup favourite Mad Rush until the arrival of her father in Melbourne a few days ago.
Cumani said on Sunday that he was delighted with the job his team in Melbourne had done with the horse.
Mad Rush, with Francesca Cumani in the saddle, has greatly impressed trackwatchers at Sandown in recent weeks, creating an avalanche of money to promote the talented English-trained stayer to Melbourne Cup favouritism over the weekend.
Mad Rush was a desperately unlucky fourth in the Caulfield Cup at his only start in Australia.
He will be ridden by the most experienced Melbourne Cup jockey in the race, Damien Oliver, who copped a lengthy suspension at Flemington on Saturday, but is clear to ride today.
There are a record eight European horses running in the Cup.
The best chance of repelling them is New Zealand's Nom Du Jeu.
But even he has an international flavour to him
He's by a French sire, is owned in Australia, trained in New Zealand and ridden by a South African.
Jeff Lloyd is a veteran jockey, but showed in winning the AJC Derby in Sydney on Nom Du Jeu he still has what it takes. Rain that has been forecast for drought-stricken Melbourne for the last four days has not eventuated. Showers yesterday barely wet the Flemington roses.
