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Training for victory

A woman’s touch View A woman’s touch

A horse trainer’s day on Melbourne Cup Day begins, like any other, at around 4 am, with a stable full of horses to be exercised and fed. Cup contenders are typically given a light workout — a swim or a trot and canter, perhaps — then are fed as usual.

Horses must be at the racecourse three hours before their race, and usually arrive by float. The Victoria Racing Club provides security guards for competing horses from 5 am. The strapper is responsible for attending to the horse, travelling with it to the racecourse, preparing it for racing and assisting the trainer to saddle the horse.

The trainer moves between the mounting yard, where they greet the owners and brief the jockeys, and the saddling stalls, until race time. Some trainers watch the race from the rails, while others view it on a television screen in the Trainer’s Room.

The 2010 popular favourite, So You Think, is led around the Parade Ring before the big race.   Zoom

The 2010 popular favourite, So You Think, is led around the Parade Ring before the big race.

A racing life View A racing life