Torrential rain forced Brave Lancer to miss the recent Wyong Cup but it has done nothing to dampen trainer Stephen Farley's belief the stayer can make it to the Melbourne Cup.However, Farley said the eight-year-old would have to run a big race in Thursday's Group Three Newcastle Cup (2300m) to warrant continuing with a lofty spring campaign.Brave Lancer was supposed to have his last start in the Wyong Cup two weeks ago but a freak storm on the NSW Central Coast forced the race to be postponed.Th

Torrential rain forced Brave Lancer to miss the recent Wyong Cup but it has done nothing to dampen trainer Stephen Farley's belief the stayer can make it to the Melbourne Cup.

However, Farley said the eight-year-old would have to run a big race in Thursday's Group Three Newcastle Cup (2300m) to warrant continuing with a lofty spring campaign.

Brave Lancer was supposed to have his last start in the Wyong Cup two weeks ago but a freak storm on the NSW Central Coast forced the race to be postponed.

The Listed race was run three days later than programmed but Farley made the decision not to run Brave Lancer after more than 170mm of rain fell on the course leading up the 2100m race.

"It was very disappointing not to run in our home Cup but I think if we see him hitting the line strongly tomorrow he'll be back on track for those big races," Farley said.

"The right sort of run will see him go on to the Metropolitan next start and he might even go for the Geelong Cup after that, it's all up to him tomorrow.

"And we haven't given up on the Melbourne Cup either."

A couple of years ago Brave Lancer was touted as a Melbourne Cup horse by then trainer Neville McBurney, an astute judge of stayers.

But a training accident and McBurney's decision to go into semi-retirement on the Gold Coast put the gelding's future in doubt.

Brave Lancer was left with Farley who was McBurney's former neighbour.

The gelding suffered a deep cut to his offside knee in a mishap when he was being schooled over jumps in preparation for last year's Queen's Cup in Brisbane.

The incident was not expected to keep him off the scene for too long but the equine influenza outbreak last spring took him out of play.

He returned after a 12-month absence from the track to run sixth to Something Anything on an unsuitably heavy Rosehill track in June.

A couple of starts later and he ran a solid third to Big Al Hazim at Rosehill in July before scoring an emotional win for the stable at the same venue over 2000 metres last month.

Brave Lancer landed a thrilling long neck victory over Vision And Power to give Farley his first Saturday Sydney winner.

In 2005, Brave Lancer narrowly missed out on a start in the Melbourne Cup when a short half-head second to On A Jeune in the Geelong Cup.

On A Jeune then ran second to Makybe Diva in the Melbourne Cup while Brave Lancer was third in the 2800m handicap on Cup day after what Greg Childs admitted was not one of his better rides.

The Group One Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) is at Randwick on October 4 while the Geelong Cup (2400m) is on October 22.