We set our sights on this race months ago. It’s where reputations are made

For any racing fan, the Melbourne Cup carnival marks the pinnacle of the racing season – a week when world-class horses, owners, trainers, and jockeys come together on the grand stage of Flemington.

This year, it’s 20 years since Makybe Diva defied history to win her third Melbourne Cup, a legendary achievement.

I was nine years old at the time, but for Lee Freedman and the FBI (Freedman Brothers Inc) they were at the peak of their partnership’s success. Looking back, it was that unbelievable mare and this carnival that really sparked my passion for racing.

Now, training in partnership with a former FBI member (my father Anthony), the Melbourne Cup carnival is a major target for our stable.

We’ve had a few of our own special moments there across the years.

The magic of this week gives you the opportunity to measure your horses against the very best when the eyes of the racing world are watching.

Any trainer will tell you: winning at Flemington during Cup week is hard.

The fields are elite, the pressure immense, and the margins fine. If you can pick up just one race, you’ve done well. If you can land a couple, it’s a career highlight.

This year, our best chances of group 1 success come through Tentyris in the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Derby Day, and Tom Kitten in the Champions Stakes the following Saturday.

The Coolmore Stud Stakes, in particular, is one of the most significant group 1 races for colts on the calendar – often dubbed the “stallion-making race”.

The sprint’s honour roll includes the likes of Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible), Zoustar (Northern Meteor), Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) and Sepoy (Elusive Quality).

The winners go on to shape the breeding landscape for years to come. That’s why we’ve had this race circled for Tentyris (Street Boss) since the start of the spring.

A 1200-metre trip down the Flemington straight is the ultimate test. A straight line from barrier to winning post, the sprint is a true test of a horse’s raw speed and mental tenacity.

Earlier in the year, Tentyris was the group 1 Golden Slipper favourite after a brilliant win in the group 2 Todman Stakes, only to pull up sore, requiring a period of rest.

At the time, it was devastating – he narrowly missed in the Blue Diamond and looked set for his golden moment. But racing has a way of balancing the ledger.

With hindsight, and with water to still go under the bridge, our team is optimistic that the forced spell might be the making of Tentyris.

He’s come back this spring a furnished colt – bigger, stronger, and far more mature, a transformation not every two-year-old makes when they turn three.

We’ve had him since he was a yearling as part of Godolphin’s allocation to our stable, and we’ve been fortunate to enjoy success with others from the same program – Hanseatic (Street Boss), Lyre (Lonhro), and Daumier (Epaulette) among them.

We deliberately kept Tentyris on a light campaign this spring, with the Coolmore marked as his grand final.

The plan was always to have him fresh and peaking on Derby Day – the horse bursting onto the scene.

Looking at the race, his biggest danger looks to be a fellow Godolphin colt Beiwacht, Chris Waller’s powerful son of Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) who won the group 1 Golden Rose in record time.

It was a dominant performance, but we have managed to beat him once before in the Todman Stakes.

Ultimately, winning a stakes race at Flemington during Cup week means more than prizemoney or prestige.

It’s about the future – about what it means for a horse’s value, its breeding potential, and its legacy.

That’s why we set our sights on these races months in advance.

For us, the Melbourne Cup carnival isn’t just sentimental – it’s where reputations are made, and where the next generation of champions begin to take shape.

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