Leading jockey Ben Melham is confident the Chris Waller-trained Birdman has the right credentials and form to back up the gelding’s likely favouritism in Saturday’s (28 March) G1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington in Melbourne, Australia.

The former Irish galloper is on target for his third consecutive victory after scoring second-up in the G2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) and then coasting to an easy win on 14 March in the G2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m), which is the traditional lead-up to the Australian Cup.

Melham knows what it takes to win an Australian Cup after scoring back-to-back successes with Godolphin’s Cascadian in 2023 and 2024.

“I’ve had a bit to do with him early doors this preparation and the way he was going he was heading in the right direction to be competitive in an Australian Cup,” Melham said. “And the more I have to do with him, the more I think he can win it. He’s been a bit of a revelation.

“He’s in the right stable and might have taken a bit of time to acclimatise, but he’s a very relaxed customer. He takes a bit of waking up but the ability is certainly there,” he added.

The powerful Lindsay Park stable hopes to add to the family’s amazing success in the Australian Cup with Apulia, who finished one-and-three-quarter-lengths second to Birdman in the Peter Young Stakes.

Ben Hayes, who trains in partnership with his brothers Will and JD, said Apulia performed well behind Birdman.

“Birdman had an easier run in transit, and we had to go wide. He is there to peak and he loves Flemington,” Hayes said. “The horse is absolutely flying. It’s been a good race for us over the years.”

The Hayes family has a strong history with the race. The late Colin Hayes won the race three times; his youngest son, David, was involved with six more wins; and his late brother Peter also won the race once. Ben Hayes has won the race three times in partnership with his father, David, and his cousin Tom Dabernig.

Last-start winner of the G1 The All-Star Mile (1600m), Tom Kitten, will be hard to hold out, while the front-running Pride Of Jenni, second in this race in 2024, will take catching.

Mick Price and training partner Michael Kent Jnr fancy the chances of their Sabaj, while gelding Mark Twain showed big improvement first-up for new trainer Phillip Stokes.

The Australian Cup is carded as S1-2 and will be run at 1.15pm (Hong Kong time) on Saturday, 28 March.