Alexander hoping to cap whirlwind time with first Group 1 in Caulfield Cup

Archie Alexander has done so much in such a short space of time that we really shouldn't be shocked if Lord Fandango provides him with a first Group 1 success in the BMW Caulfield Cup on Saturday.

Alexander is just 31 and has had his training licence in Australia for only three years, yet here he is with a live chance of winning the richest turf handicap in the world over a mile and a half. He doesn't hang about, does he?

Son of former Malton-based trainer Hamish, who pinhooked Derby winner Generous as a foal, and now married to Annie Bowles, a former champion female point-to-point rider in Ireland, Alexander has worked with the very best in the business to help get him to where he is now.

Work experience with Nicky Henderson and Paul Webber; four years with Criquette Head-Maarek in France; one year with Todd Pletcher in America; three years with Mark Johnston; six months with Anthony Cummins; six more with Danny O'Brien; a full year with the daddy of the lot, Aidan O'Brien. Now that's what you call an impressive CV.

But how did he come to changing country, continent and, indeed, his whole life?

Lord Fandango and Ben Allen win the Herbert Power Stakes in MelbourneCredit: Vince Caligiuri

"Hubie de Burgh, the bloodstock agent, came to Aidan's one day to look at horses and told me that Lloyd [Williams] was looking for staff in Australia," he explains.

"He was looking for head lads, assistant trainers and all that sort of stuff. They were very good jobs and he had some really good horses at the time, the likes of Sea Moon, Masked Marvel and Thought Worthy. It was a very easy decision for me really. I knew it would be a good time to go over."

It certainly was a good time for his Australian adventure to begin, and three years on he finds himself regarded as one of the hottest prospects around.

Alexander says: "It's been a whirlwind since I got to Australia. It's only three and a half years since I got my licence. Since then we've had 80 or 90 winners, a Group 2 winner, Group 3 winner and plenty of Listed winners.

"We've won about A$2.7 million (£1.6m/€1.8m) in prize-money in three years so that shows you the strength of Australian racing and the strength of the stable. It's all happened very quickly.

"There's no secret really. It's all about hard work and having a good team. It's important to get good support from owners. We're trying to be a young team which is very open and transparent. We always do the best thing by the horse and owner. We started off with five horses and are up to 40 now.

"My wife Annie is a huge part of the team. She rides out four or five in the morning, then she does all the admin, looks after the owners, the billing, staff wages – I couldn't do it without her."

Ben Allen can't hide his delight as Lord Fandango wins the Herbert Power StakesCredit: Michael Dodge

Saturday could be life changing for the Alexanders, and Lord Fandango has the power to propel their Ballarat stable to a new stratosphere. Alexander thinks last Saturday's Herbert Power Stakes winner, who will again be ridden by Ben Allen, certainly ticks a lot of boxes in the 1m4f feature.

"It's an open race and a lot of them are coming in with question marks after their last run," he says.

"Lord Fandango was an impressive winner of his last race, with a low weight, is ridden by someone who knows him really well, has a good draw, will love the ground, is a course-and-distance winner and, while he'll have to step up, he's improving fast and we might not have got to the bottom of him yet."

Caulfield Cup card

If you are interested in this, you might also like:

Well-drawn Vermeer the new Caulfield Cup favourite

Glorious Guineas day at Caulfield with something for everyone