Racing: Specialist will find the zap

Upsetthym's battling fourth in the Trentham Stakes has done nothing to shake the confidence of her Matamata trainer or rider about winning the $250,000 Wellington Cup tomorrow.

TAB bookies reacted by easing the two-mile specialist to an $11 fifth-favourite yesterday, but Karen Fursdon and Vinny Colgan are adamant it would be dangerous to dump her on last Saturday's run.

"I thought she was going to roll past them at the 100m and so did Vinny, but you've got to remember they ran four seconds quicker than when she won the Queen Elizabeth over that distance," said Fursdon.

"She hasn't got the same zap at them when they're running that fast."

Fursdon immediately brought her well-travelled 6-year-old back to her Matamata stable after her final Cup lead-up because of a lack of suitable trackwork riders at Trentham this week.

Auckland Cup-winning apprentice Gemma Sliz is still sidelined through injury, though she should be back race-riding next month. Buddy Lammas has been putting the Cup polish on a mare who continues to thrive in training.

"She worked huge this morning," said Fursdon yesterday.

"I didn't ask her to run a time but she really wanted to get into it.

"I couldn't be happier with her going into the Cup."

Colgan, who won the first-day carnival feature on Justa Tad, would not want to swap his shot at a memorable group-one double for any other mount tomorrow.

"I know a lot of people were disappointed with her Trentham Stakes effort, but I thought it was a real grinding stayer's run," said Colgan.

"She didn't flash home like some of the others but that's the way she's been trained. Back to handicap conditions and over two miles it's going to be a whole different race."

All Upsetthym needs now is a clear run from her No 2 gate tomorrow.

Without the traffic problems she struck in the stop-start Auckland Cup, Upsetthym would have finished much closer than fifth, said Fursdon.

"She definitely would have run third at Ellerslie.

"I don't think she would have got to Peter Jenkins mare but you never know."

While tomorrow's 3200m feature will be Upsetthym's fifth over that trip since winning the Auckland Cup last year, Fursdon said the mare appeared to be loving the high mileage.

After their Melbourne Cup campaign last spring, Fursdon admits the Auckland-Wellington Cup double was not on her agenda.

But almost from the moment Upsetthym stepped off the float from Melbourne, she made it clear that snoozing under a tree in her paddock was the last thing on her mind.

"The way she goes at Wellington will tell us a lot more," said Fursdon.

"If she goes a fantastic race we'll give her a short break and head back to Australia for either the Adelaide or Brisbane Cups.

"If she goes an ordinary one, then we'll know it's been a big season and she can go out in the paddock for much longer."

The racing future of one of our best two-milers in recent years, Cyclades, also hinges on how he performs tomorrow.

He was a despised $70 chance by the TAB yesterday, but Takanini trainer Cydne Evans would not be surprised to see a fairytale result for the veteran winner of the 2002 Cup.

"It's an awful field for a Wellington Cup and not as strong as the one he beat three years ago," said Evans.

"He's definitely better than a $70 chance on the way he's been going."

Evans said the horse was always going to struggle in Bazelle's Auckland Cup after they crawled in the early stages, and then sprinted home.

"That run was much better than it looked," she said.

"He was last turning for home, then made a brief dab at them, but to be a chance he would have had to run 34 or 35 seconds for the last 600m and he just can't do that."

All Evans needs now is a little rain about and a true pace tomorrow.

Cyclades again did not get conditions to suit when topping off his Cup preparation in the Trentham Stakes, finishing a battling ninth to Ebony Honor.

Evans is hoping three-win, 11th-hour entry Gorgeous George will ensure a true Cup pace and make rider David Walker's job of upsetting the favourites a lot easier.

Final day

* The $250,000 group-one Wellington Cup headlines the final day of the summer carnival.

* Etoile Du Nord is the favourite.

* Calveen is the favourite for the Thorndon Mile.