The cup will return home to the Seymour Racing Club on Sunday for the first time since 2019.
A large crowd is expected, and local trainer David Bourne is keen to see the big race take place on home soil.
“We’ve had a bad run since 2015 when they first decided to spend the money on the track,” Bourne said.
“Unfortunately, it’s been in start-stop mode for a few years.
“Two cups in seven years hasn’t been ideal.
“There’s probably a generation of people that don’t know about the Seymour Cup because the kids are usually out there from 16 years of age.
“The track’s new, and it will be a good track, I’m sure of that.
“With Chris (Martin) as the new CEO, I’m sure he’ll do a good job.
“He’s been full of energy, so he’s going to make some improvements and revitalise the whole thing.
“(We) Probably won’t have a cup runner this year, but on the program itself, we might have one runner.”
Horse training is a profession riddled with ups and downs, but Bourne could not imagine himself doing anything else.
“It’s performance-based,” he said.
“It’s like any sport, really, because it’s the highs and lows of winning and losing.
“It’s a great lifestyle. It’s an outdoor job and all that sort of stuff.
“It’s just what I’ve always done.”
When you picture a horse trainer, you may think of a laid-back character who loves nothing more than working with their horses.
But on race day, Bourne says they’re a different breed altogether.
“Fellow horse trainers are the opposition, and we treat them accordingly,” he said.
“On the outside, we are extremely nice, but they’re our competitors.
“It’s gloves-off on race day, I say.
“It’s a tough job, but you don’t begrudge any good luck or anything like that.”
It will be an unmissable couple of minutes on Sunday, October 22, when the gates open and the 2023 Seymour Cup gets under way.
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