ALTHOUGH Avilius is a $2.15 favourite his trainer James Cummings believes the race named after his grandfather The Bart Cummings will provide the toughest test yet in Australia for his exciting stayer.

The imported galloper has been so impressive in his three Australian wins in Sydney he is a $13 equal favourite for the Melbourne Cup and is a $9 chance for the Caulfield Cup

The reward for winning today’s The Bart Cummings is that the victor gains an automatic start in the Melbourne Cup.

Avilius needs to win as he is number 56 in the Melbourne Cup ballot order. A win would also boost his chance of gaining a Caulfield Cup start as he’s number 57 in the order of entry for that race and needs a rehandicap.

Cummings decided to bypass last Saturday’s The Metropolitan to try and win The Bart Cummings and get a start in the Melbourne Cup with the Godolphin owned galloper.

Cummings said Avilius is facing his toughest test of his preparation.

“This is his toughest challenge in Australia, he has 58.5kg and is coming up against better horses all the time,” Cummings said.

“He’s got more and more upside but so too have his rivals. It’s going to be a high pressure race. He’s got to step up and take up the challenge.”

Avilius has only had one start over 2400m and he finished second to the horse rated the seventh best in the world Cracksman in the Group 2 Prix Niel at Chantilly when he was trained by Andre Fabre.

Cummings wants to see Avilius win over the 2500m of today’s race to prove that he can do it.

“Avilius has enjoyed a good three weeks since his last run in the Kingston Town and is primed for this challenge,” Cummings said.

“He’s shown me that he can step onto his Melbourne leg quite comfortably in his work.”

“He still seems full of energy the deeper he’s going into his preparation.We hope to see him enjoy the pressure of such an important race.”

SLIVER OF OPTIMISM
MICK Price will look to use Humidor’s close-up second to Winx in last year’s Cox Plate as a reference point as he tries to upstage the mighty mare with Grunt on October 27.

Price said Saturday’s Turnbull Stakes would be the perfect tune-up for Grunt.

“She’s the exception to every rule,” Price said of Winx.

“When it comes to Winx, I have nothing else … I have no logical reason to suggest we can beat her, apart from absolute blind optimism.

“The plan (with Grunt) will be to go to the Cox Plate. I suppose if you are going to run in this year’s Cox Plate, being optimistic, all we are going on is that Humidor got within half a length of her.”

Price has two runners — Grunt ($14) and Mighty Boss ($101) — in the Turnbull. He is confident Grunt will return to his best at Flemington.

“If he gets balanced up and chases home into second, that would be fantastic. There’d be no shame in that,” he said.