Champion New Zealand jockey Michael McNab is poised to make his Victorian debut this weekend astride Nereus, trained by Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray, in Saturday's Mornington Cup (2400m).
Nereus, the Kiwi sensation, boasts an impressive record of five victories from eight career starts, including a recent triumph in the Group 2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m) at Trentham.
Ritchie exudes confidence in the four-year-old son of Savabeel, expressing optimism about his competitiveness in the upcoming Listed event.
“Nereus is very good. He's not your typical New Zealand stayer as he's not a big-striding New Zealand stayer,” Ritchie shared with Racing.com.
“He's nifty with a nice little turn of foot at the end of 2000 metres, so we're chancing our arm by going to 2400 metres.
“We feel Mornington will suit him and so will Caulfield, so we are hoping to get our spot in the Caulfield Cup.”
The trainer's ambition is palpable as he added, “We're going to have a go and see how good we are. We have to step up again on New Zealand form but he's doing that every start.”
McNab, renowned for his back-to-back New Zealand jockeys' premierships in 2021-22 and 2022-23, currently ranks second in this year's standings.