KEY POINTS:
Just as well Shaune Ritchie doesn't mind a chat.
"He must be the most talked-about 100-1 shot of all time," the Cambridge trainer said last night of his Cox Plate hope, Magic Cape.
"I'd hate to think how many calls I've taken - the phone hasn't stopped ringing."
The calls started when Magic Cape touched down in Melbourne with fellow New Zealand spring carnival raiders Princess Coup, Mandela and Railings on Tuesday of last week. The television cameras were there to greet them.
Since then the Australian racing media have been all over Ritchie, and he's delivered a cheery greeting and an array of sharp one-liners to all.
"I guess they're running out of things to write about Miss Finland and Haradasun," he said.
The Melbourne Herald-Sun newspaper ran a full page feature on Ritchie amid its packed Sunday coverage of a dramatic Caulfield Cup.
It's a great story, and it got even better yesterday when Ritchie's father, Frank, arrived to be on hand for Saturday's A$3 million ($3.6 million) weight-for-age feature at Moonee Valley.
Twenty-one years ago, father (the trainer) and son (the strapper) prepared the great Bonecrusher for a spine-tingling victory over fellow New Zealander Our Waverley Star in what was dubbed the "race of the century". All the major players have been involved this week, making it a special one for Ritchie junior.
In a nice quirk of fate, Bonecrusher's jockey, Gary Stewart, has ridden Magic Cape in trackwork.
Stewart works for Melbourne Cup-winning New Zealand trainer Brian Jenkins, now based near the beach at Bangholme, southeast of Melbourne, where Magic Cape is stabled.
Ritchie galloped Magic Cape at the much-hyped "breakfast with the best" on Tuesday.
Yesterday Magic Cape put in even better work, with new race rider Blake Shinn aboard. "Blake was impressed with him. He worked very strongly," Ritchie said.
"I don't think he's a 100-1 shot by any means. His style is to drop out the back but he can sustain a run from the 600m which is what you need at the valley."
TAB Sportsbet in Australia last night had the Two Thousand Guineas winner, a last-start third to Princess Coup in the Kelt Capital Stakes at Hastings, at odds of $101 for a win and $23 for a place.
Today Ritchie's media commitments continue when he fronts a press conference alongside the favourite Miss Finland's co-owner John Messara and jockey Craig Williams, trainer Mark Kavanagh and El Segundo's jockey Luke Nolen.
Then it's on to the big race, in which even eighth place is worth A$100,000
- AAP
Plate facts
Some facts about tomorrow's big race:
* First run in 1922 when the committee of the Moonee Valley Racing Club realised the need for a high-quality, weight-for-age race for the best horses.
* The winner of the first running was Violoncello.
* The race was named in honour of William Samuel Cox, the founder of Moonee Valley racecourse.
* There have been 18 odds-on favourites of which 12 have won.
* The biggest crowd was 50,670 in 1960 when Tulloch won.
* In 1946, the Cox Plate was run in two divisions when the winners were Flight and Leonard.
* In 2000 Sunline equalled the biggest winning margin of seven lengths recorded by Dulcify in 1979.
