Middle Earth begins climb to another Melbourne Cup tilt
Third in Australia’s biggest race in 2025, Maher’s stayer resumes in Anniversary Vase
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Middle Earth (Mark Zahra) winning the Australian Cup Prelude (2,000m) at Flemington on March 8, 2025. A spring campaign eventually concluded with a creditable third place in the Melbourne Cup (3,200m) eight months later.
PHOTO: SKY RACING WORLD
MELBOURNE – Middle Earth will race at Caulfield on April 11 to kick off his campaign aimed at another shot at the Melbourne Cup.
The A$175,000 (S$157,000) Listed Anniversary Vase (1,600m) is the starting point for the 2025 Melbourne Cup placegetter, who is in the care of Ciaron Maher.
The former UK galloper is then expected to travel to Brisbane via Sydney, where the Group 1 Doomben Cup (2,000m) on May 23 and the Group 2 Q22 (2,200m) on June 13, both at Eagle Farm, have been put up as possible winter targets.
The Roaring Lion six-year-old would then likely have a short break in the Queensland winter warmth to prepare for the spring carnival.
Middle Earth made an immediate impact on Australian soil when he won the Australian Cup Prelude (2,000m) at Flemington on March 8, 2025.
But he fell by the wayside until finishing third in the Group 3 JRA Cup (2,040m) at Moonee Valley on Oct 25 as his final lead-up run. He then finished third to Half Yours in the Melbourne Cup.
The gelding enters April 11’s race with two easy jump-outs under the belt, including one on April 6.
Maher’s assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said that jump-out was to knock the freshness out of Middle Earth.
“He trialled Monday and he’s back five days later,” said Turnbull.
“He’s a high-energy horse and he’s been at Julien Welsh’s because of his barrier antics.
“He gets quite hot and claustrophobic, so he trialled Monday to run Saturday on purpose to try and knock the edge off him.
“He’s then headed up to Sydney and on to Brisbane for the Doomben Cup, the Q22 and races like that and have a prep aimed at the Cup again.”
Middle Earth will carry 61kg, the same weight his illustrious stablemate Pride Of Jenni carried to victory in 2025, and will be ridden by Thomas Stockdale for the first time.
Maher also saddles stayers Land Legend and Sayedaty Sadaty in the same race.
Land Legend, a one-time winner in England’s Newmarket, is a French-bred by Galileo who claimed two races in Australia.
One was for his former English trainer James Ferguson and the other for Sydney champion trainer Chris Waller – including the Group 1 The Metropolitan over 2,400m at Randwick on Sept 21, 2024.
Raced by Hong Kong businessman Bon Ho of two-time International Group 2 Kranji Mile winner Southern Legend fame as well as 2020 The Everest winner Classique Legend, Land Legend will be having his second outing for Maher.
Also a one-time UK winner, Sayedaty Sadaty is first-up since finishing third-last in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2,600m) at Flemington on Nov 8, 2025.
A three-time winner in Australia, the Anodin five-year-old won the Group 3 Bendigo Cup (2,400m) on Oct 29, 2025 before his Queen Elizabeth start. SKY RACING WORLD
