Spearheaded by Princess Coup, the "big four" of New Zealand racing will mount a blitz on the Melbourne spring carnival after their strong showings in the Kelt Capital Stakes.Princess Coup was a dominant winner at Hastings, but the connections of Red Ruler (2nd), Nom Du Jeu (3rd) and Boundless (4th) have all confirmed their horses will head to Melbourne where they are already respected for their deeds in Australia.Princess Coup, placed in the Caulfield Cup, Mackinnon Stakes, BMW and Australian Cu

Spearheaded by Princess Coup, the "big four" of New Zealand racing will mount a blitz on the Melbourne spring carnival after their strong showings in the Kelt Capital Stakes.

Princess Coup was a dominant winner at Hastings, but the connections of Red Ruler (2nd), Nom Du Jeu (3rd) and Boundless (4th) have all confirmed their horses will head to Melbourne where they are already respected for their deeds in Australia.

Princess Coup, placed in the Caulfield Cup, Mackinnon Stakes, BMW and Australian Cup in the past year, will run in the $3 million WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 25.

Opie Bosson, who judged her run in the Kelt perfectly, has the ride.

The Australian bookies have certainly respected her Kelt win. She moved into $4 second favouritism for the Cox Plate, with Weekend Hussler, whose reputation lost some lustre with an unplaced run in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, a drifting favourite at $3.50.

The New Zealand TAB has the positions reversed with Princess Coup $3.80 favourite and Weekend Hussler at $4.

Red Ruler, who showed a welcome return to form in the Kelt, will run in the $2.5 million Caulfield Cup (2400) on October 17 as will Nom Du Jeu and Boundless.

Their chances of running in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 4 will depend on their Caulfield Cup performances.

Nom Du Jeu and Red Ruler ran first and second in the AJC Australian Derby at Randwick in April. That form was given further credence, with Littorio, third in that Derby, winning the Turnbull.

It's a welcome turnaround for the New Zealand racing industry which has struggled to make an impact in major Australian races since the deeds of star mares Sunline and Ethereal early this decade.

Nom Du Jeu's trainer Murray Baker said he thought the quality of the Kelt field was "as good as any weight-for-age field in Melbourne, perhaps with the exception of Weekend Hussler when he is at his best".

"There were some pretty damned good horses in that race. The first four home all performed well in Australia in the autumn."

Baker said he was happy with Nom Du Jeu who is more of a 2400m than a 2000m horse and was still maturing.

He paid tribute to Princess Coup, clearly superior in the Kelt Stakes for the second year in a row.

"She is a tough battled hardened mare, with a lot of ability," he said.

Princess Coup's trainer Mark Walker said the Cox Plate was her focus.

"As long as we are happy with her in the next week, she will fly over on the Wednesday before the Saturday race."

He said the key to this campaign was that she was a fresher horse, as last year she was being trained for the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups staying tests.

"She really has a turn of foot," as a result, he said.

That was exemplified both on Saturday and in the Stoney Bridge Stakes (1600m) two weeks ago when her paralysing bursts were too much for her rivals.

Bosson picked his moment just under the 800m mark and she steadily made ground, looming up to Nom Du Jeu in the straight before Red Ruler appeared on her outside.

"I was worried about Red Ruler for a bit and thought he might run past me, but I gave her a few backhanders and she responded well," said Bosson.

She won by 1-1/4 lengths from Red Ruler, with a short head back to Nom Du Jeu and another short head back to Boundless.

Jason Waddell was thrilled with the turnaround in performance by Red Ruler, saying he was unsettled by a gust of wind at the top of the straight but recovered well.

"I thought we were going to win it at the 300m, but the good mare was a little too strong."

Waddell is unlikely to ride Red Ruler in Australia because his carded weight of 52.5kg for the Caulfield Cup is too light for him. An Australian jockey is likely to be engaged.

Noel Harris said he was pleased with Nom Du Jeu, while Hayden Tinsley said Boundless was probably a run short and was "still on the way up".

NZPA WGT