KEY POINTS:
MELBOURNE - Zabeat seemed to plummet out of the reckoning for tomorrow's A$5 million ($5.8 million) Melbourne Cup with his last placing at Flemington on Saturday but his owners remain hopeful he can turn his form around in Australasia's biggest race.
It looked a big gamble when Northland trainer Donna Logan and Auckland real estate agent Ashley Goodwin decided on Saturday night to pay the A$41,250 final declaration fee for the Cup.
A few hours earlier Zabeat had finished 32 lengths adrift of the Saab Quality Handicap (2500m) winner Maybe Better.
But a veterinary check had found nothing amiss with the gelding, so they decided to press ahead, though it wasn't without some soul-searching after what Logan termed a "dismal performance" in the Saab.
"His welfare was the most important thing," Logan said yesterday.
"We had brought our vet over here and he knows the horse well and inspected him thoroughly and scoped him. He found nothing amiss.
"I didn't want to die wondering. My partner in the horse was adamant the horse's welfare came first but he really wanted to run if it was okay."
Logan said she could not make any excuses for Zabeat's lacklustre effort but she had some thoughts on what may have caused it.
"He ran an ordinary race in the Chairman's Handicap before his second in the Sydney Cup in the autumn and he ran ordinary lead-up races at Brisbane last year, so I'm hoping that might be the key - that he goes an ordinary run in his first race on his Australian campaigns."
Zabeat led the Saab field at a solid clip, before starting to struggle with about 700m to run.
Jockey Corey Brown told Logan he was thinking about how far he would win by with 1000m to run, but he was soon to be disappointed.
Brown said he did not know the horse well enough and decided not to persevere with him after a few taps with the whip when he started to fade.
Logan added: "But I know the horse well enough to know that he is a bludger and if you don't ask him for an effort he won't give it.
"He might have decided that without any urging he wasn't going to put in."
She noticed the horse stumble twice during the running and that might have affected his confidence.
Logan admitted she would now be thrilled if Zabeat ran 10th - with A$110,000 in prizemoney being paid to runners who finish between sixth and 10th in the Melbourne Cup.
"Anything ahead of that would be a bonus."
On his best form, Zabeat would easily manage 10th and he has solid 3200m form, including a Wellington Cup win to his credit.
Logan trains the horse with husband Dean and Chris Gibbs. She admitted to feeling downcast after the run.
"It's hard to explain your emotions. You feel as though you are on a desert island and haven't got a paddle or canoe to get off it.
"It's been very deflating. I really thought something was wrong with the horse and am just pleased there isn't."
But there is one minor consolation to her woes - the horse has drifted in betting markets from $71 to $201.
"It means we are going in as underdogs with no pressure on us whatsoever."
Olivier Doleuze, the Hong Kong-based French jockey, arrives in Melbourne today to take the ride on Zabeat.
- NZPA
