Racing: Rough cup Little's big worry

Colin Little isn't worried about the other runners facing his favourite El Segundo in tomorrow's Caulfield Cup.

It's interference that has kept the middle-of-the-road Melbourne trainer sleepless most nights this week.

Traditionally the Caulfield Cup is one of the roughest Australian races all year.

Caulfield is tight, turning and unforgiving if luck does not fall your way.

Little can accept that, but he strongly believes a relegation rule, like we have in New Zealand, should exist if jockeys cause serious interference.

"We don't have it here and I know Des Gleeson [chief steward] is not in favour, but interference in our major races has got to the point where jockeys are being suspended, keep riding under appeal, then do their time at the end of the carnival when the big money has gone.

"There's no deterrent any more. The subject has to be revisited."

Little points to high-profile Melbourne jockey Danny Nikolic, who in recent weeks has been suspended twice for long terms and has another charge pending but is still riding.

Little fears for El Segundo because he knows his race favourite is going to be back and on the inside of packed runners from his No 4 barrier.

"All I want to see is a cleanly run race with a bit of pace on."

Want he doesn't want is bad luck denying him the pinnacle of 30 years of training when he can almost feel his right hand around the stem of the Caulfield Cup.

What bookmakers have describe as an avalanche of money flooded in for El Segundo once Little declared the horse had recovered well from his runaway victory in last weekend's Yalumba Stakes and would be taking his place in the Caulfield Cup.

It's been a long road to get to producing the A$2.5 million ($2.7 million) Caulfield Cup favourite.

Little's father, Bill rode successfully in Melbourne and India before a serious head injury cut short his career.

Little junior had only half a dozen race rides before weight pushed him towards a career as a builder.

"I took out a licence and trained one horse on the side when I was in the building game.

"I rather strangely thought that it was a case of having a licence and people arrived at your gate to give you horses to train.

"I eventually realised that I either had to take it more seriously or give it away.

"I went to New Zealand, leased and bought some yearlings, none of which turned out to be any good, but in the aftermath of that I had a couple of owners that were prepared to stand by me."

From that shaky base, Little gradually built up a team that could support him and was rarely without at least one good horse.

One of them was El Segundo's dam, Palos Verdes.

"She was a good staying mare. She won the Mornington Cup, Hobart Cup and Manion Cup in Sydney and broke the time record in each of them.

"She won the 2400m Bagot at Flemington on January 1 and did a tendon in during the race."

Little naturally inspected the foals from Palos Verdes. "I didn't like the first one and didn't bid on it. It's called The Snake and it's about as good as it sounds."

He seriously liked El Segundo, by Waikato Stud stallion Pins and paid $140,000 to prove his point.

"Right from the start he was the real deal. He's not very big, but he's got a lot of talent."

El Segundo has won six of his 10 starts and Little says the horse is still a bit away from maturity. He believes the 4-year-old will be better in the autumn, but says the money is too good to turn away from.

The key is the luxurious 49.5kg he drops to tomorrow, a magnificent position to be in after his runaway Yalumba victory last week.