The trailblazing American galloper is owned by Jim and Dana Bernhard of Pin Oak Stud in Kentucky, and this is the first time they have travelled a horse overseas.<\/p>\n
As a result, the family will be coming to Australia in force.<\/p>\n
With them will be their son, Ben, who became vice-president of their racing business after tossing in his job as an aeronautical engineer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool to be a part of history, hopefully we create a path where others follow in the future \u2026 hopefully we are not the last,\u201d Ben Bernhard told this masthead from Kentucky.<\/p>\n
Bernhard said he felt the pull towards horsepower after his family bought Pin Oak Stud in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was at SpaceX in Los Angeles, and we had horses training out at Santa Anita, and I just really enjoyed going out to watch the horses train, hanging out with [trainer] Richard Mandella and I just sort of really got into it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually, I decided to make the move and see how I could help from a technology perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
But rather than help horses go \u201clike a rocket\u201d, Bernhard is focused on injury prevention.<\/p>\n
He said his side company, Stable Analytics, placed \u201cwearable sensors\u201d on horses to track their every movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the same sensors that have been around in aerospace forever,\u201d he said. \u201cThe best algorithms for analysing this data come from the aerospace industry, so it works out well in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parchment Party has won all eight of his races on dirt tracks, but that should not detract from his chances in the Melbourne Cup, according to Bernhard.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s run on turf before, he hasn\u2019t won on turf yet,\u201d Bernhard said. \u201cBut we haven\u2019t really got a turf race at his preferred distance [in the US]. I think the distance will play to his strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just a very classy horse. It takes a horse of a really good mind to run the way he does … running in between horses, running against the rail.<\/p>\n
\u201cRunning through 20-something other horses [in a Cup field] won\u2019t be an issue for him. He\u2019s just a horse with a really good mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
Velazquez, 53, is the other key to the Parchment Party puzzle. No American-based jockey has ever ridden in a Melbourne Cup.<\/p>\n
Not that Velazquez\u2019s CV is filled with too many holes. The Puerto Rican-born rider has won three Kentucky Derbies, more than 6700 races and amassed more than $US500 million (about $770 million) in prizemoney for connections.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s won on Parchment Party before so he knows him well, and he\u2019s obviously one of the great jockeys, so we are excited to have him on,\u201d Bernhard said.<\/p>\n
So does America\u2019s bold bid to win the Melbourne Cup stand a chance?<\/p>\n
We asked Nine\u2019s American sport correspondent and racing enthusiast Brad Blanks.<\/p>\n
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\u201cJohnny Velazquez is one of the great big-race jockeys of all time in the US and has had a fantastic record riding on turf,\u201d Blanks said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s won at Royal Ascot a few times, which indicates he takes direction on foreign soil. For the owners of Parchment Party you would hope so.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for how the horse will go, sadly it won\u2019t go very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not even with a rocket scientist as a secret weapon?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t need a secret weapon,\u201d Bernhard said. \u201cHe\u2019s got this. He doesn\u2019t need me.\u201d<\/p>\n