If not for the Japanese ending their nearly decade-long absence from these shores, trainer Donna Logan would probably be home in New Zealand now as a Caulfield Cup winner with a horse which was unraced a year ago.
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Logan searched for reasons to whisk Rising Romance back across the ditch after her second to Japan's Admire Rakti in the Caulfield Cup. She could not find one.
"Initially I was [hoping to be back in New Zealand] because we planned to come and have a crack at the Caulfield Cup and go home, but the way she pulled up out of the race there's no reason not to go forward," said Logan, confirming Rising Romance would head the Mackinnon Stakes cast on Saturday.
"She's bright and well and I'm very pleased with how she pulled up. I'm thinking, 'Oh, well, if that's the case we might push on'.
"She actually galloped on Saturday because she had gained quite a bit of weight ... Her constitution is amazing, so realistically when you've got a horse thriving like that it would be silly to head home and miss a race like this."
Although the Mackinnon Stakes carries a $1 million purse, the race is likely to take a back seat to the Victoria Derby and the Coolmore Stud Stakes at the pipe-opener for the Flemington carnival.
Much like it has taken a back seat in Logan's plans for the spring. She scrambled to secure James McDonald to stay with Rising Romance after he came within a whisker of pulling off a Caulfield Cup masterclass.
On Friday, Godolphin released McDonald from his initial Mackinnon mount, Contributer, which is likely to be aimed at the Emirates Stakes.
"I think 12 months will make a helluva difference," Logan said of returning Rising Romance to Melbourne next spring, when she will be five. "It's good to know that she's right in these cups races right now.
"She peaked for the [Caulfield Cup], and I had planned to have her peaking on the day.
"I couldn't be disappointed on the day because we were beaten by a very, very good horse and all credit must go to the winner [Admire Rakti]. I don't begrudge going down to a horse of his calibre. That's what racing is about.
"There is always good horses coming through, as we saw with Adelaide [on Saturday] – and what a freak of a horse he is. You've got to have respect for all these horses. They're not international horses for no reason.
"Coming back [to 2000 metres] is a bit of a question mark, obviously. I think [Rising Romance is] capable of it and without a sprint in her feet she should cope with that. It's going to be a bit of a pressure race, so you're going to have to be hard and fit for it, which she will be."
The Mackinnon looms as the one race not be targeted en masse by internationally trained runners this year although Side Glance, fourth in the weekend's Cox Plate, won it in 2013. Roger Varian's Farraaj is likely to fly the European flag in the event on Saturday.
Epsom winner He's Your Man will be ridden by Brazilian ace Joao Moreira.
The connections of Happy Trails and Criterion are also deciding whether or not to make quick back-ups after the Cox Plate.
