Eustace wants to live up to his brother

Harry Eustace has always been in awe of the Melbourne Cup and what it represents, so his sibling rivalry with brother David will take a back seat in his quest to win the Cup with Sea King on Tuesday.

Or will it be so? Harry Eustace said his younger brother David constantly reminds him about coaching a Melbourne Cup winner.

Dave Eustace, who now lives in Hong Kong, was co-trainer of Gold Trip when he won in 2022 with Ciaron Maher.

“As you can imagine, he was very opinionated about what we should do, which was great. He’s just as excited as we are that we’re in the Melbourne Cup,” Harry Eustace joked.

The Newmarket coach said the Melbourne Cup had always attracted not only him, but coaches around the world.

“I can’t believe I have a contender, let alone one with single-digit odds,” he said.

“This is a race I’ve known about all my life. I saw American win this tournament live when I worked here. From an international perspective, it is a race that is always on everyone’s radar. It’s huge. It is slightly larger than the country in which it is located.

“The way the carnival is celebrated here and the preparation of everyone involved is enormous. We’ll enjoy it as much as we can.”

Eustace said when he arrived in Australia with Sea King, starting the Melbourne Cup was a failed mission given where he was ranked in the entry order.

“I thought the Queen Elizabeth would be his logical race at Flemington, but after the Caulfield Cup the field disappeared and then he won the Bendigo Cup and here we are,” he said.

“Honestly, I’m stunned. To have a runner in Cox Plate with Docklands and then become a runner in the Melbourne Cup. This is truly an outstanding race that everyone in the industry knows about,” he said.

Eustace said that the Sea King had adjusted well to the quarantine and had recovered from it.

“Reports from quarantine were good and then he galloped with Docklands in the Valley and looked pretty solid. Damian Lane then gave a good result and won the Bendigo Cup.”

WATCH: Sea King wins Bendigo Cup

Eustace said Sea King had a tendency to race but he believed a six-day reserve before the Melbourne Cup should help overcome that.

He said he wasn’t worried about getting over the barrier and said he could go a little slower anyway.

Eustace said European horses tend to be a bit slow when racing in Australia and his team have worked on that.”

“In Bendigo we were aware that the European horses could be a step slower. It was a little steady in the distance.

Holly (Doyle) will use it conservatively anyway. The key to his chances will be his early positioning,” Eustace said.