American-trained Parchment Party is put through his paces at Werribee ahead of a historic Melbourne Cup tilt. (Photo by Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images)
As a foreign visitor to Australia, American author Mark Twain was instantly sold on the significance of the Melbourne Cup.
In 1895, as part of an adventure and research project for his book Following The Equator, Twain joined the Flemington throng to watch Auraria win the race that had already captivated a nation, three decades into its existence.
“Nowhere in the world have I encountered a festival of people that has such a magnificent appeal to the whole nation. The Cup astonishes me,” Twain wrote.
“The Melbourne Cup is the Australasian National Day. It would be difficult to overstate its importance.
“It overshadows all other holidays and specialised days of whatever sort in that congeries of colonies. Overshadows them? I might almost say it blots them out.”
In modern terms, Twain would be considered an influencer, perhaps drawing parallels to Stephen Power, the racing blogger. The legendary writer’s account of the Cup contributed to its international allure.
Following The Equator was published in 1897 and while the Melbourne Cup has broadened its horizons beyond Australian shores, American thoroughbred attention has been challenging to capture.
For whatever reason, Twain’s fascination has never resonated with a wider US audience.
But, 130 years after Twain marvelled at “a brilliant and wonderful spectacle, a delirium of colour, a vision of beauty” that might be about to change.
America has a runner in the Melbourne Cup that it can call its own.
Parchment Party has crossed the equator as the only American-trained horse to contest Australia’s greatest race, complete with a US Hall of Famer as his jockey.
His arrival is a reward for the Victoria Racing Club’s push into a US market top-heavy with a speed influence at the expense of out-and-out stamina horses that populate the racing landscape in Europe.
But the Melbourne Cup hasn’t been without some US influence, thanks to the mastery of trainers such as Colin Hayes and Bart Cummings in Australia and Dermot Weld from Ireland.
US-bred winners include Beldale Ball (Hayes), At Talaq (Hayes), Kingston Rule (Cummings), Media Puzzle (Weld) and Americain (Alain de Royer-Dupré).
They are anomalies bred in a country where extended-distance races are now few and far between for mature stayers, a trend reflected in international classifications.
The best three-year-olds bred on staying lines have their chance for a Grade 1 result in the Belmont Stakes, a 2400m race that completes the US Triple Crown.
Beyond that age group, there are limited US races that offer a true test of endurance.
The $US5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf is the richest, but as evidenced at the weekend when the Willie Mullins-trained ‘jumper’ Ethical Diamond landed an upset, the race has been a playground for UK and European horses.
The American St Leger, a 2700m event modelled on the historically important UK version, was discontinued after 2017.
The Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, a 2400m weight-for-age event that has alternated between Belmont and Aqueduct, was first categorised as a Grade 1 in 1979.
It attracts overseas competition and was won this year by Godolphin warrior Rebel’s Romance for Charlie Appleby and Frankie Dettori. That horse was runner-up to Ethical Diamond in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at the weekend.
For a premier race on a world scale, the Joe Hirsch’s purse is a relatively modest $US500,000.
But modern-day results provide an insight into the team behind Parchment Party’s Melbourne Cup bid.
Parchment Party’s trainer Bill Mott has prepared a record six Hirsch winners. He also has two Breeders’ Cup Turf winners, including Theatrical, the sire of Media Puzzle.
Parchment Party’s jockey John Velazquez has been successful in the Hirsch five times and the Breeders’ Cup Turf twice.
In the twilight of a career that has earned global accolades, Velazquez will also become the first American jockey to ride in the Melbourne Cup.
It will be a fitting stage for the 54-year-old, who counts three Kentucky Derby wins, two Belmont Stakes, a Preakness Stakes, countless Breeders’ Cups triumphs and international victories in Dubai and England on his resume.
Velazquez has also collected four Belmont Gold Cup winners, the Grade 2 race that fast-tracked Parchment Party into the Melbourne Cup as the winner of two overseas races that offer a ballot exemption.
Parchment Party is one of the Melbourne Cup outsiders and his task will be magnified if the race is run on soft ground, where he is unlikely to be at his best.
It is a mighty challenge but his presence will add another dimension to the race that will be run close to midnight on a Monday night in New York, from where Mott has become a force of nature in US racing.
More than a century since Twain turned his fascination into words, America, or at least those in the racing bubble, is about to learn first-hand what the fuss is all about.
