Best horse in the country....That's a huge call and subjective at best.

Two years ago Efficient was in the middle of his very first preparation which saw him finish with five wins from six starts. Included in those wins were the G2 Moonee Valley Vase 2040m and a devestating victory in the G1 VRC Derby.

12 months later he was just as impressive taking out the Melbourne Cup.

While his winning ratio took a hit during that 12 month period there's no doubt that connections were willing to sacrifice that statistic for the greater good. Go through the history books and you'll find that it takes a special horse to win both a Derby and a Melbourne Cup and that's exactly what Efficient is....a special horse.

Weekend Hussler has dominated the G1 races he has contested from 1100m to 1800m but just as Efficient struggles over the shorter trips I believe you'll see Weekend Hussler struggle over the staying trips. In W.H's favour is the number of G1 events over suitable distances which gives the impression that he is a superior racehorse.

The simple fact is that no other major racing country in the world has a racing program where stayers are left in the cold. A good example is Melbourne's Autumn carnival where you have four G1 sprints over a five week period....it's insane !!! Meanwhile races like the Brisbane Cup are downgraded and the first leg of the Sydney 3yr old Triple Crown (Canterbury Guineas, now Randwick Guineas) is shortend from 1900m to 1600m. It should be noted that the Randwick Guineas was one of the G1's Weekend Hussler added to his CV.

When you look at Australasia's great thoroughbred champions you don't start at Manikato or Schillaci. Sure they were great speed machines and our champion sprinter/milers have a huge part to play in Australian racing but it's when the thoroughbred steps up to 2000m + that their ability is truely put to the test.

Tulloch, Phar Lap, Wakeful, The Barb, Carbine and more recently Octagonal, Sunline, Lonhro, Northerly and Makybe Diva all had the speed to win over the mile while possessing enough stamina to capture G1 events from 2000m up to 4800m. Wakeful, the greatest mare ever to race anywhere in the world won the Oakleigh Plate/ Newmarket Handicap double (both over 1200m at the time) then followed it up by winning another 23 stakes races including three over 4800m!

What's this got to do with Weekend Hussler ? Plenty. As a gelding Weekend Hussler's connections have plenty of time to amass a similar record if he is good enough but until he wins a G1 over 2000m or further he can never stand among the great champions of the past, especially in an era where our quality stayers are few and far between. Efficient is one of those rarities and his two G1's could be seen just as valuable as Weekend Husslers seven.

As for being set for the Cox Plate alone....I totally agree. I think connections got caught up in the hype. To have the horse run over 12f for the first time in a Caulfield Cup is insane. He won't win.

ZAGREB
GUILLOTINE
MALDIVIAN
NOM DU JEU

and I'll add RED RULER although I can't get help but think the No.1 barrier will see the big horse struggle for the room he needs. If the MRC don't flood the track he's a great each way hope.... although I've heard that regardless of the weather we'll get a track that rates dead/slow for the first race of the day.

THE END.