DILMI’S BOLD PLAN TO WIN DARWIN CUP WITH UK IMPORT

RACING historians know all about Archer travelling from Nowra to take the first ever Melbourne Cup at Flemington in 1861.

But what about a NSW provincial horse travelling even further afield to try to win the Darwin Cup?

It’s an ambitious plan Wyong trainer Nacim Dilmi has to snare the Northern Territory’s marquee race in August.

The $200,000 Cup (2050m) on Monday, August 3 won’t be run on turf, but on Fannie Bay’s unique oil-mixed sand track.

And it’s because of the surface why Dilmi is especially keen to win it with six-year-old UK import Humanity (pictured above).

Dilmi has prepared 31 winners in his first season as Domeland’s head trainer on the Central Coast, including a Queensland success with Humanity; his first runner there on the Gold Coast Polytrack (synthetic) on May 2.

And how!

Humanity thrashed his rivals by eight lengths in a Benchmark 62 Handicap (2000m) with 60kg, making light of his outside barrier and revelling in a return to a non-turf surface.

The gelding had managed only three placings from 13 starts in Australia, and Dilmi put blinkers on him for his Gold Coast assignment after he had finished seventh in a Benchmark 68 Handicap (2100m) at Wyong on April 16.

“When Humanity couldn’t win on turf, YP Cheng was happy to send him to Queensland for this race on the Polytrack,” Dilmi explained today.

“His reasoning was that the gelding’s only two career wins had been on synthetic tracks in the UK (Lingfield Park and Kempton Park).

“Humanity had won both those races easily over middle distances with big weights.

“We took him to the Gold Coast to try to break his Aussie ‘duck”, and it worked.

“It was a hit and run trip. I brought him back to Wyong afterwards.”

Unlike Archer, who travelled by steamship from Nowra to Melbourne, Dilmi is hoping to fly Humanity to the “Top End”.

“It looks as though we will have to fly him from Brisbane,” he said.

“He won’t go if we can’t make suitable arrangements.

“I wouldn’t entertain floating him all that way.”

Humanity’s Cup lead-up will depend on when Dilmi can get the gelding to Darwin.

“He may have a run on the turf before getting on the plane,” he said.“At this stage I don’t think he will start at Darwin before the Cup.”

Dilmi has taken the opportunity to chat with former Sydney and now Gold Coast trainer Peter Robl, who has won the last two Cups with former Sydney gelding Hadouken.

“There’s talk Peter might not take Hadouken back to try for a third win if Humanity goes to Darwin,” he said.

Dilmi is yet to decide whether his promising three-year-old filly Probability Theory will proceed to the $700,000 Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday week.

Probability Theory (Rachel King) finished seventh to Fireball Miss in the Group 2 The Roses (2000m) at Doomben yesterday; having not raced since scoring over 1300m at the Kensington track last month.

“Whilst the filly won a barrier trial in between, in hindsight I wish I had been able to give her a race instead,” Dilmi said.

“We didn’t plan to lead for as long as we did yesterday, and all things considered I felt she ran well.

“Rachel said Probability Theory had done enough to go on to the Oaks, but I will go back north this week to check on her progress and make a decision.

“If we don’t run in the Oaks, she can come back to the 1600m of the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic for three-year-olds at Eagle Farm on June 13.”

Meanwhile, Dilmi will have another promising three-year-old, last start Kensington winner I Am Carrot, in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

The winner automatically secures a berth in the field for the $3m Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm a fortnight later, but Dilmi doubts he would go that far even if he wins the Fred Best.

STORY JOHN CURTIS, MAY 25, 2026 - PICS BRADLEY PHOTOS