He's a Canberra battler aiming for spring carnival glory and trainer Len Hodgson has recruited Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Damien Oliver to chase the biggest win of his career.
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Hodgson and Asclepius will race at Flemington on Thursday in the four and five-year-old handicap (1800 metres) with Melbourne Cup euphoria still sweeping the city.
Hodgson, 53, who operates on a shoestring, scraping together cash to pay stable rent and feed his horses, will rub shoulders with racing's elite.
He has four horses in work and just two more on his books and is the first to admit he struggles at times. To put that in perspective, Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Gai Waterhouse has 140 horses in work, 280 horses on her books and her runners earn millions.
''But it makes no difference to me,'' Hodgson said. ''It doesn't even cross my mind who I'm standing with - I'm just trying to do a job. Nothing's changed for me, I'm still a battler I guess. I'm not real excitable. But sometimes you have to reach high to win the big prize.
''I'll jump up and down if we get a win, but I'm not kicking myself yet. Racing's like catching a wave, you just have to get on the right one and you never know what will happen.''
Waterhouse won her first Melbourne Cup on Tuesday when Fiorente stormed to victory with Oliver aboard.
Just two days later, Oliver will suit up on Oaks day to join Hodgson and five-year-old Asclepius in the second race of the day.
Asclepius - raised, trained and owned in Canberra - has won $99,000 in prizemoney and has six career wins.
Oliver is a three-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey and the Asclepius connections hope his winning form rubs off on their gelding.
''Damien's in some form at the moment and it might just be the sort of luck we need,'' Hodgson said. ''We needed a bit of rain, but we'll be a chance. Damien's manager called me back, we've had a bit of luck there and it may just be enough.''
Part-owner Paul Walshe is confident Asclepius will show strongly in a quality field.
''We've got the in-form jockey … we just wanted the best and we rang them all,'' Walshe said.
''It's not many times you've got a Melbourne Cup-winning jockey on your horse. You may never get another chance to have a horse run at Flemington in Melbourne Cup week.''
Hodgson's last trip to Flemington was in 2005.
He is a two-time Canberra Cup winner and his triumph in 2002 broke a 30-year drought for Canberra horses winning the race.
But he has never been on a stage like this with all eyes from the racing world on his horse.
If Asclepius wins, there will be no time for celebrating. Hodgson has to drive Asclepius back to the stables an hour away from Flemington and then back to Canberra.
''I didn't go and get a new suit,'' he said. ''The one I've got isn't a bad one and will stand up to scrutiny down there.''