Damien Oliver aboard Anamoe after their Caulfield Guineas win (Image: Racing Photos)
For all Godolphin has achieved in Australian racing, the Cox Plate has so far eluded the Blue Army.
But head trainer James Cummings says come 5:10pm (AEDT) on Saturday evening, that could all change, thanks to three-year-old Anamoe.
The star colt will team up with Craig Williams and jump from barrier 10 in Saturday's $5 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m), carrying just 49.5kg.
"It's amazing to think that this race has the ability to find the best horse, it's one of the great attractions of the Cox Plate to be the weight-for-age championship of Australasia," Cummings said.
"The boys are delighted with him, he's had the right preparation now, it wasn't smooth sailing in the beginning, a month out from his first-up run he had to overcome a virus, which was far from ideal.
"Now that he's had three very convincing runs as a spring three-year-old, after a galvanising two-year-old campaign, he looks ready for the first time to step up against the older horses."
It will be the first time Anamoe has raced beyond 1600m, but unlike a number of other previous Caulfield Guineas winners who have struggled in the Cox Plate, Cummings is confident the rise in trip will pose no problems.
"He's out of an Oaks winner, he's bred to run a mile-and-a-quarter, he's had the right preparation to run the journey," Cummings said.
"He's certainly got every opportunity to run the trip right out, particularly under the high pressure of the race.
"We'd like to think that he's just got that edge up his sleeve, more to offer, and didn't leave it all there on the line in the Caulfield Guineas."
WATCH: Anamoe's Caulfield Guineas win
From the wide draw (barrier 10), the grandson of five-time Cox Plate-winning trainer Bart expects Anamoe won't have things all his own way.
"Horses, in order to beat Anamoe, have tried to bring him out of his comfort zone, and take away his turn of foot, that's the weight-for-age style and that's the type of thing we could imagine unfolding in the Cox Plate," he said.
"Anamoe is the type of horse to let things unfold, and his best performances have come from when jockeys have been able to ride him with that sort of confidence, when jockeys have been as cool as the other side of the pillow, Anamoe's had the chance to do his best."
Anamoe is currently the $4.40 second favourite for the Cox Plate behind Zaaki ($2.80).