Racing: Trainer quick with Rakti quip

Answers can become wooden talking to Japanese through an interpreter.

Not so with Tomoyuki Umeda, trainer of the raging favourite Admire Rakti in tomorrow's Melbourne Cup.

At the international media Cup conference at the Werribee quarantine station yesterday, Umeda was asked if the enormous pressure of having the favourite in the Melbourne Cup was getting to him.

"If it was it doesn't matter," he replied, "because I'm not running in the Cup. Only the horse is running and as best I can tell he doesn't know he's favourite."

Perhaps typically there wasn't much else forthcoming apart from the trainer's opinion that everything had gone right since Admire Rakti's stunning Caulfield Cup victory and that, yes, Flemington will suit the horse better than Caulfield.

Handicapper Greg Carpenter has been criticised for re-handicapping Admire Rakti just .5kg for the Caulfield Cup win, but he said at yesterday's conference he was more than comfortable with his decision.

"Half a kilo in a 3200m race like the Melbourne Cup equates to one length and I think that's more than fair.

"With 58.5kg he has by far the greatest task in the race and you have to go back to 1975 and Think Big since a horse has carried that much weight and won the Cup."

Admire Rakti's form is tremendous. He finished less than one length away fourth in last year's Japan Cup, giving the winner Gentildonna 1.5kg and the winner went on to frank the form by winning the 2400m Sheema Classic on Dubai World Cup Night.

Japanese stayers are world class and they are fit and hard.

One of the interesting interviews yesterday was former outstanding Irish rider Johnny Murtagh.

He rode in two Melbourne Cups and despite having only recently given riding away for training he suddenly finds himself back in Australia with two Melbourne Cup runners, Royal Diamond and Mutual Regard. "I know what it means to try and win a Melbourne Cup, most people forget I rode for two years in Sydney early in my career."

Asked if it would prefer to win the big race as a trainer or a jockey, Murtagh declared for the trainer.

"You work a lot harder for a lot less money, but the pleasure is so much more because you're spending all your time with the horse. They become like your babies."

He declared Mutual Regard ($14) the better prospect. "He loves the sun on his back here in Australia, not that he's seen much of it in recent days, but when it's warm here you can see the improvement in his coat."

And he's delighted to have the No 1 staying jockey Damien Oliver on his back. "I've played golf with Damien, played him at squash and I've ridden against him. He's very competitive, but then so am I."

Another factor in favour of Mutual Respect is that unlike most European horses he likes firm tracks.

Melbourne's wildly fluctuating temperature is tipped to top 29C tomorrow which means regardless of what level of irrigation is applied to Flemington today, the track will dry to be very firm by the 3pm Cup start.Mike Dillon

Market: $5 Admire Rakti, $5.50 Signoff, $7 Lucia Valentina, $7.50 Protectionist, $8.50 Fawkner, $13 Mutual Regard, $17 Red Cadeaux, $21 Araldo, $26 Cavalryman, Junoob, Seismos, Who Shot Thebarman, Willing Foe; $41 Au Revoir, Brambles, Lidari, My Ambivalent; $51 Royal Diamond, $67 Gatewood, Opinion; $101 Precedence, Sea Moon; $151 Mr Oceirin, $201 Unchain My Heart.