Thank You All - It's G Day

It's finally Guineas' Day.

As we said yesterday, a stable is not about one horse - the overwhelming interest in Xtravagant has not been driven by us - we merely report the massive press fascination in this colt.  This is undoubtedly down to a number of factors - including his two Group 1 eight length victories - that have captured the public's attention - it is a case of the X factor.

Today it will be tough - have no fear the Australians are out to down this boy in whatever way they can on the track - it is hard to travel, take them on and beat them at home, but we will all be trying our very best - for his owners and for New Zealand.

We choose not to talk our horse up - is he a good horse, well certainly from what he has shown on the track, he sure is.  Is he a super star or a champion, not yet.  Do we compare him to Sunline, Bonecrusher, Might and Power - no those lofty and ambitious comparisons do not come from us, rather others in the media. Will he be one of those greats?  Perhaps, that we cannot foretell.

What we can tell though is that we have a happy horse, one that has seemingly taken all his travel disruption in his stride and one that that we are Xtraordinarily proud of.

Our team is committed and dedicated to all of our horses - we have passionate, talented and caring people work spend their daily lives doing everything in their power to bring out the very best in all of our horses.  After that it comes down to the horse, the rider and in these big races - a lot of luck on your side.

At the end of the day it is good to have such positive news for racing, it is great that Blake can make people feel excited, we should be proud to wear our hearts and pride on our sleeves - it is a sad heart that can't rejoice.

Thank you for the dozens and dozens of emails and messages - your kindness of spirit and thoughtfulness is humbling - we wish "Blake" could read!

The latest from The Informant - and we hear that Australian punters are putting $100,000 and $50,000 amounts on Xtravagant this morning ... and enjoy the shot of him in the Flemington pool yesterday ...

Xtravagant is the firming favourite for the Australian Guineas following his delayed arrival in Melbourne.

The Pentire colt was the $3.50 favourite when he left New Zealand yesterday morning and after the news he had travelled well, he shortened further to $3.30.

Xtravagant was left waiting in New Zealand for 24 hours following the cancellation of his original flight and his trip was again delayed yesterday.

He finally arrived in Melbourne early yesterday afternoon, but his bold appearance when he paraded for waiting media and his progress since suggests he will front up for tomorrow's big test in capital order.

“He had a trot and canter this morning and a swim this afternoon so he's ready to go,” said co-trainer Stephen Autridge, who was also pleased when the colt tipped the Flemington scales at 496 kilograms.

“He's been eating and drinking and looks terrific, but it's very good to see the weight is what it is.”

Victoria Derby winner Tarzino came in for solid support with news of the delays to Xtravagant and had firmed from $9 to $7 before easing slightly to $7.50 after the New Zealand colt had arrived safely.

Palentino has the outside barrier of 16 and continues to drift and is now at $8 after being $4.80 in markets before acceptances.

Jockey Mark Zahra was disappointed with the draw and said it made things tough. "He's going to need an extra good ride now," Zahra said.

Tarzino's jockey Craig Newitt described barrier four as "okay, but not great". He had hoped to draw a little wider to try to ensure a trouble-free run for the colt.

"We're just going to rely on the speed," Newitt said. "If they go quick enough, he'll be hard to beat."