It is often said the journey is more important than the destination and it has been some journey for connections of Saturday's Sydney Cup contender No Wine No Song.The eight-year-old will be bidding to win the 3200-metre stamina test for the second time having first claimed the race two years ago.A few months later the euphoria of that victory was tempered when No Wine No Song suffered a tendon injury that ruled him out of the spring.He returned last autumn but one run into his comeback another

It is often said the journey is more important than the destination and it has been some journey for connections of Saturday's Sydney Cup contender No Wine No Song.

The eight-year-old will be bidding to win the 3200-metre stamina test for the second time having first claimed the race two years ago.

A few months later the euphoria of that victory was tempered when No Wine No Song suffered a tendon injury that ruled him out of the spring.

He returned last autumn but one run into his comeback another tendon in another leg gave way.

At seven, many thought a second successive injury spelled the end of his racing career but thanks to the time and patience of owner Joe O'Gara and trainer Kevin Moses, No Wine No Song started on the comeback trail - again.

"His owner used to walk him every day for a couple of kilometres before he came back to us," Moses said.

"The first month he was back in the stable we just took him off a pony and we didn't put a rider on his back."

As heartbreaking as the two tendon injuries would have been, they were nothing compared to the colic attack which almost claimed the gelding's life last year.

No Wine No Song was at Moses' Randwick stables at the time and only the quick thinking of staff and veterinarians saved him.

"He had a three-and-a-half hour operation and the vets said we were very lucky we got him there in time and he could be operated on straight away," Moses said.

"(2008 Melbourne Cup winner) Viewed died of colic on Saturday so it can get them."

In a testament to the gelding's toughness, he bounced back from that as well and will head to Randwick as one of the leading fancies for the Sydney Cup.

No Wine No Song has had six runs this campaign and has gradually worked into peak fitness, finishing third to Littorio in The BMW (2400m) two starts ago before his game second to Jessicabeel in the Chairman's Handicap (2600m) last time out.

Moses has no doubts he is going at least as well as when he won the race two years ago.

"I think he is going as good as he's ever gone," he said.

"Each run he's got that little bit more fitness, he gets fit himself by racing and all these runs have been building him up."

Due to his injury history, Moses has had to adapt No Wine No Song's training and the gelding does a lot of beach work at Botany where Moses' daughter Tanya rides him a couple of times a week.

He also has his legs iced every day, a job that falls to his strapper Trevor.

"The horse often follows Trevor around like a pet dog," Moses said.

"Trevor ices him and takes him out for a pick of grass every day and the horse loves him.

"Everyone likes the horse, he is a pleasure to have around."

If No Wine No Song wins the Sydney Cup it will be on the back of a lot of hard work by a lot of people.

Not to mention one courageous horse.