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Surprise Baby, a $NZ5,500 purchase off gavelhouse.com, will kick-off his Melbourne Cup campaign at Moonee Valley on Saturday when he contests the Gr.2 John F. Feehan Stakes (1600m).
The surprise package has now won four of his eight starts since being purchased off the online auction website, including victory in the Gr.2 Adelaide Cup (3200m).
The Paul Preusker-trained five-year-old hasn’t raced since finishing a narrow second in the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (2800m), a race that would have automatically qualified him for the Melbourne Cup.
Preusker believes the gelding is primed for Saturday’s first-up assignment.
"He's good to go, a nice sharp mile will be spot on for him and, while we don't want to give him too hard a run, it'll be a good chance for him to have a nice blowout,” he said.
"His work has been good and I was very happy with his jump out at Stawell last week, so it's exciting to have him back at the races."