CAULFIELD CUP debutant Jeff Lloyd knows what lies ahead. The former ruler of the South African riding ranks, now a leading player in the Sydney jockey room, reunites with AJC Australian Derby winner Nom Du Jeu in Saturday's first leg of the famed cups double.
"It sounds very tricky but I'm looking forward to the challenge," Lloyd said yesterday. "I've actually been lucky on tracks I've ridden on for the first time. You travel a bit, you adapt quickly and I do think a horse like Nom Du Jeu will adapt to most tracks."
Nom Du Jeu, prepared by New Zealand horseman Murray Baker, arrived in Melbourne yesterday and Lloyd will head south tomorrow morning to partner the four-year-old in a track gallop at Caulfield.
Lloyd linked with Nom Du Jeu in Sydney last autumn and collected the derby before finishing second in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. It was the last time Lloyd rode the Montjeu stallion, which has since had three runs back from a spell in New Zealand - the latest a third behind the Cox Plate-bound Princess Coup and Caulfield Cup rival Red Ruler in the Kelt Capital Stakes.
"I think Nom Du Jeu is a very exciting racehorse and his runs back in New Zealand leading up to this have been very good," Lloyd said. "The first time I rode him I was quite excited about the feel he gave when he quickened."
Lloyd spent time at the weekend watching the past 10 Caulfield Cups and will do so again this week while catching up on the form of both horse and jockeys to race in the iconic event.
He will also walk the track following track gallops tomorrow morning.
"I've been watching races at Caulfield, it is one of those tight tracks where horses can find trouble," Lloyd said. "My horse was a very good three-year-old and looks as though he has improved.
"He stays well and has a good turn of foot, which is needed at Caulfield; you have to be able to quicken when the opportunity arises. For a staying horse, he has a lot of speed. A lot of the stayers [go at] one bat here."
The Caulfield Cup of 18 horses and four emergencies will be announced tomorrow and the barrier draw will be conducted on Wednesday morning. "I'd probably like to draw in the middle, 10 to 12," Lloyd said. "I wouldn't like to be drawn too well on him. You get bottled up on the inside, it looks a bit dodgy.
"On a horse like him which can quicken, I'd rather have the room so when he is ready to go he can go. I'd like to have the option. Once you've drawn inside there is not much you can do."
Having ridden with success around the world, Lloyd isn't about to overload himself with the form. "On a track like that, you look at the best jockeys, jockeys that know the track," he said. "If you get in the wrong place, there is not much you can do about it. You can study as much as you like but it doesn't mean a hell of a lot once the race starts.
"You need the right horses around you and it is your natural instincts that really get you through."
While Nom Du Jeu is being quoted at double-figure odds, Lloyd isn't one to be jumping off the Weekend Hussler bandwagon. The Horse of the Year's grip on favouritism was lost when eighth behind new favourite Littorio in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington last Saturday week.
"You never disregard a champion for one bad run," Lloyd said. "I see they're tying his tongue down now, which might tell you they have found something or are trying something different.
"It is a great race to be involved in and I think I've got a horse with a genuine chance."
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