Nigel Blackiston has lost count of the number of people who have told him Littorio is not a genuine stayer.But horse and trainer will be out to silence the nay-sayers once and for all in Saturday's Group One Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick.Littorio was strong at the finish when he outgunned Zavite to win The BMW over 2400 metres last start and for Blackiston that was good enough reason to press on to the longer Sydney Cup trip."I've had many people give me advice and tell me he can't stay beyond

Nigel Blackiston has lost count of the number of people who have told him Littorio is not a genuine stayer.

But horse and trainer will be out to silence the nay-sayers once and for all in Saturday's Group One Sydney Cup (3200m) at Randwick.

Littorio was strong at the finish when he outgunned Zavite to win The BMW over 2400 metres last start and for Blackiston that was good enough reason to press on to the longer Sydney Cup trip.

"I've had many people give me advice and tell me he can't stay beyond 2000 but so far the BMW has proved them wrong and I think on Saturday he'll see the trip out as well," Blackiston said.

"If he can run it, great, we can look forward to the spring and hopefully we've got a Melbourne Cup horse. If not, we're going to change our plans and find something else."

Littorio's only start at the distance was in the 2008 Melbourne Cup when he finished midfield to the ill-fated Viewed.

However, he was subsequently found to be suffering from bone soreness and after just one run the following autumn he was given 10 months to recuperate.

It has been a long road back and the journey came with no guarantees the five-year-old would recapture the form that led to him winning the 2008 Group One Turnbull Stakes and being placed in the Victoria and AJC Derbys as a three-year-old.

"After having that time off we were never assured or guaranteed he was going to come back and be as competitive at Group One level," Blackiston said.

"The main thing was just giving him the time and having the patience to leave him out for as long as we did.

"His lead-up races were all very, very good and to win the big one we planned for (BMW) was fantastic."

Littorio returned home to Victoria after the BMW and arrived back in Sydney on Tuesday night.

He will face 11 rivals on Saturday including BMW runner-up Zavite, 2008 Sydney Cup winner No Wine No Song and the Bart Cummings-trained pair of Moatize and pre-race favourite Precedence.

New Zealand will also have a strong representation in Harris Tweed, Booming and Spin Around.

The Sydney Cup is one of just a handful of 3200m races left on the Australian calendar and the British-born Blackiston says that is a shame.

"I come from England so we have a land of stayers," Blackiston said.

"Unfortunately, in Australian racing a lot of the emphasis is based on the Melbourne Cup, but there are only five two-mile races left.

"It's a real shame because Australian racing has had some great stayers in bygone years and it would be nice to continue that trend and have more staying races."