KEY POINTS:
Ruakaka trainer Donna Logan has shelves of trophies at home frombig-race wins on both sides of theTasman.
But there's one piece of silverware she's still desperate to get her hands on - an Ipswich Cup.
"After I ran second there with Victory Smile in 2002 I said, 'I'll be back, I want one of those trophies,"' laughs Logan.
"They really are the best. They're sensational; they're just beautifuland big."
Logan, however, admits that El Perez's shot at black-type glory tomorrow - arguably her best chance yet to add the coveted prizeto the cabinet - has been more of a last-minute thing than a long-term master plan.
After El Perez "slew" them in the Cornwall Handicap at Ellerslie with 58kg, Logan had been circling uninspiring New Zealand follow-ups like the Kiwifruit and Taumarunui Cups.
But then she fielded a call from co-trainer, ex-husband Dean Logan, who was already in Queensland with their star sprinter Jazzella, a Gold Coast stakes winner in May.
"He said, 'If he eats up, put him on a plane,' which made perfect sense with all the rain over there," said Logan, whose Queensland raids stretch back to Abdullah in 1992.
"And if he gets black type, that just makes it for my mare [El Fugaz]."
Logan was originally hoping to get El Perez to Queensland in time forthe Brisbane Cup. But flight schedules nixed that plan and insteadan Ipswich-Caloundra Cup assault was hatched.
Logan could only watch Monday's feature and wonder "what if" as the Bart Cummings-trained Viewed strolled home by seven lengths on a surface downgraded to heavy by raceday rain.
"I don't know about beating the winner but I guarantee he would have run second," said Logan, who has saddled Victory Smile, Ring of Fire and Zabeat for major Queensland cup cheques on every visit.
"With 54kg, I don't know, maybe he would have given the winner a shake. He just loves that type of ground."
The Logans, however, still had something to celebrate that day when Rockdale won the TJ Smith Stakes, upsetting hotpot Fravashi.
They bred the Danroad gelding from their mare Komplete Kaos and sold him as a weanling for $55,000.
Meanwhile, El Perez ran into yet another roadblock to the saturated sunshine state, stuck in Sydney by a late float schedule reshuffle.
Instead of heading north on Tuesday night, as originally intended, he left 24 hours later, arriving in Brisbane at 5am yesterday.
"He was a bit tucked up but you'd expect that after walking off the truck after 12 hours," said Logan.
"He ate all his breakfast this morning and Dean says he's bright and he's very happy with him."
El Perez was a late arrival in Melbourne two years ago before a Flemington handicap victory over Blutigeroo and Field Hunter, and Logan says she's never had him in better shape.
Like the rest of the family, he just keeps getting better with time.
"He's a lot bigger and stronger in himself. He's a massive, big, beautiful individual."
All the Logans, and third training partner Chris Gibbs, need now is the forecast rain to hit Ipswich between now and the A$200,000 feature.
Ipswich was rated slow yesterday, but Donna Logan's confidence would soar with more rain to help rider Glen Colless negotiate the 2150m on the tight circuit.
It would also mean the defection of Spinney, a notorious duffer in the wet, and serious question-marks over the chances of other form runners.
Doomben Cup runner-up Rampant Lion looms as the main danger.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained Bianca is also a threat. She looks ready to step up in distance and should cop the surface.
The Gerald Ryan-trained Synonym has been in stunning form in Sydney and faces a weight drop. But he was beaten at his most recent start on a wet track when favourite.
