With the Japanese connections bragging of his impeccable record in some of our finest handicaps, the nine-year-old comes to our shores with a different profile to the likes of past stars Fame Game and Admire Rakti.

"He's a tough, strong stayer who races up near the lead and he's acclimatised so well in Australia that everything is very much on target," stable assistant and former Japanese resident Kosuke Kawakami said.

Curren Mirotic has impressed his back-up team, which includes Northern Farm chief veterinary surgeon Dr Tomonori Tsuda who has journeyed to Australia with the stayer.

The horse is owned by Katsumi Yoshida one of the most important and wealthy racing figures in Japan, who built a partnership in Australia with late owner and breeder Phil Sly.

Kawakami, who has ridden as a jumping jockey in Melbourne for the past decade, said that the Melbourne Cup was a priority for the horse given the lack of similar quality staying races in in Japan.

"The cup is ideally placed on the world calendar because there aren't 3200m races on at home," he said.

Owner Yoshida has been the architect of one of the most spectacular racing operations the world has seen.

Through the purchasing of a number of high-class mares Northern Farm, owned and run by the 66-year-old Yoshida, has managed to establish some of the strongest breeding families in all of the world.

Delta Blues was a winner in the 2006 Melbourne Cup for Northern Farm, along with Admire Rakti, whose staggering performance to win the Caulfield Cup was tragically overshadowed by his death of a heart attack on the track.

Kawakami maintains that Japan stables have built up significant intelligence on what is required to win a Melbourne Cup and the depth of weight-for-age horse competing in races such as the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney and the Cox Plate here in Australia.

However, what will be a blow for the Sydney Autumn Carnival is the establishment of a new group 1 event in Japan, the Osaka Hai Stakes, which will absorb many horses that were under consideration to journey to Australia and they will now remain at home to race in the newly convened event.

Tommy Berry will come down on Friday to ride Curren Mirotic for his last workout prior to the stayer starting in next Tuesday's Melbourne Cup.

FEATURE RACE MARKETS

VRC DERBY
$3.20 Sacred Elixir
$8 Good Standing
$8.50 So Si Bon
$9.50 Inference, Rocketeer
$11 Swear
$13 Prized Icon
$14 Tumultuous
$15 Beach Life, Captain Duffy, Morvada
$17 Kent
$19 Highlad
$21 Veladero
$26+ Others

MELBOURNE CUP
$4.60 Hartnell
$7 Jameka
$10 Bondi Beach
$12 Almandin
$13 Heartbreak City
$15 Scottish
$17 Big Orange, Exospheric, Wicklow Brave
$19 Almoonqith
$21 Curren Mirotic, Grand Marshal
$26 Oceanographer, Qewy, Who Shot Thebarman
$31 Grey Lion, Our Ivanhowe
$34 Real Love, Secret Number
$41 Beautiful Romance, Gallante

Odds: Ladbrokes