Unbeaten Kiwi gelding Elephant set for Australian debut at Caulfield

Unbeaten Elephant is on his way from New Zealand to Melbourne for a test against the local horses at Caulfield on Saturday.

Elephant has a strange name but has shown trainers Emma-Lee and David Browne plenty of talent with four straight wins to start his career.

Emma-Lee Browne said Elephant’s name came from a facial quirk.

“His owner named him,” the Cambridge-based trainer said.

“He always turns his lip up and he spends his days smiling at everyone and they always said he looks like he’s got an elephant trunk, so the name stuck.”

Elephant was booked to fly across the Tasman Sea on Tuesday night before a possible date with the locals in a Benchmark 84 contest at Caulfield.

Browne said New Zealand’s tracks were extremely wet at the moment while it also made sense to have a crack the bigger Australian prizemoney with the five-year-old.

“We could have stayed home but the tracks are pretty wet over here at the moment and he can’t go in any of the bigger money races here because his rating isn’t high enough,” she said.

“He’s not overly big but he’s been pretty good so far, so we thought why not have a go over there.

“He can race in those rating races and see where he’s at and there’s more prizemoney over there than racing here at home.”

Party trick for Elephant ??

He’s as funny as he is fast!
His trunk has Mad Skills ?

I challenge anyone to take him on! @Em_spartaracing
Emma-Lee & David Browne #Elephant#loveracingnzpic.twitter.com/VRum878IQl

Elephant’s connections have planned for a dream result, entering Elephant for the big three – the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup – if the son of Shocking exceeds expectations.

“There’s a long way to go before those races but you’ve got to be in it and you have to pay a lot of money to get into those races late if he does come up really well over there,” Browne said.

“If he doesn’t step up to the big races, there’s still a lot of options over there for him with good tracks and good jockeys as well.”

Cox Plate-winning jockey Damian Lane will ride Elephant if he runs at Caulfield.

The Brownes have previously enjoyed success in Melbourne with the talented jumper Monarch Chimes, who won hurdle at Pakenham but was also good enough to win on the flat at Sandown.

Browne said her husband David left New Zealand on Monday to prepare for Elephant’s arrival.

She said three-year-old Rhinoceros and Bitfrost would accompany Elephant to Melbourne.

Both Rhinoceros and Bitfrost are among Caulfield Guineas entries but could also progress to the Victoria Derby if their form warrants it.

“They’re the same as Elephant, they’ve got a bit of a way to go before those races, but they can run around there and pick up a bit of prizemoney,” Browne said.

“It would be a better result than running around here (in New Zealand).”

Adding to a busy period for the Browne stable was the fact Emma-Lee’s sister Katie Laurie competed for Australia in the equestrian events at the Tokyo Olympics.

The pair’s mother is a New Zealander while their father is Australian.

Originally published asHigh expectations for Kiwi visitor Elephant

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