Jason Mathie hopes Vigor can erase the disappointment of missing the Melbourne Cup by winning the $1million Group1 Emirates Stakes at Flemington today.
Vigor, part-owned by Canberra-based Mathie, was controversially excluded from the 24-horse Melbourne Cup field.
Trainer Danny O'Brien scratched Vigor from last Saturday's MacKinnon Stakes a race where the winner earns a Melbourne Cup start believing he would be granted automatic entry to Australia's premier race.
But the gamble failed and Vigor was left 25th in order of entry after owners of New Zealand galloper Gallions Reach backflipped to accept for the race.
''It was a disappointment and at the end of the day we couldn't control it but a win [today] would be nice because it would make the disappointment a bit easier to handle,'' Mathie said.
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