MELBOURNE – Having been banished from Middle Earth for almost a year, jockey Mark Zahra is looking forward to being back with the stayer in the A$10 million (S$8.98 million) Group 1 Melbourne Cup (3,200m) on Nov 3.

Zahra did a lot of the early work on the son of Roaring Lion when he initially arrived at Ciaron Maher’s stable, winning the Australian Cup Prelude (2,000m) on the gelding at his Australian debut at Flemington on March 8, 2025.

After partnering Middle Earth in last year’s Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2,400m), the top Australian rider made the decision to switch to the now-retired Al Riffa in the 2025 Melbourne Cup, ultimately costing him the ride on the Ciaron Maher-trained gelding for the best part of 12 months.

As fate would have it, Middle Earth went on to run third behind Half Yours in last year’s Melbourne Cup under Ethan Brown while Al Riffa finished only seventh.

But Zahra is more than happy to get back in the saddle for the upcoming 3,200m contest at Flemington.

“I jumped off him to ride Al Riffa last year and I think the owners weren’t happy, so I got a year ban, but I’m back on now,” he said.

“He ran well when I rode him in the Turnbull in a hard race and he’s going along nicely.”

Now a seven-year-old, Middle Earth finished eighth to Cosmic Crusader in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2,000m) at Flemington on Oct 3 three starts ago.

He was also unplaced in his subsequent two runs in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2,400m) and the Group 1 Cox Plate (2,040m), albeit ridden by Thomas Stockdale and John Allen respectively.

Zahra feels there is “a touch of Gold Trip” about Middle Earth heading towards the Melbourne Cup.

Also trained by Maher, Gold Trip gave Zahra the first of back-to-back Cup wins when he landed “the race that stops the nation” in 2022.

Middle Earth, like Gold Trip, ran in the Cox Plate before the Melbourne Cup and sported blinkers, like Gold Trip, and will wear the headgear on Nov 3.

Zahra was sidelined as a result of his recent Caulfield Cup fall when Middle Earth ran in the Cox Plate but watched intently from home.

“I was watching a few that day, hoping they didn’t win, but I was watching him and hoping he would run well,” he said.

“He didn’t win, but I thought he ran well.

“It was a different level of race to what he ran in last year (Group 3 JRA Cup over 2,000m), but what I wanted to see was him hitting the line.

“I think Ciaron ran the same path the year Gold Trip won, blinkers on in the Cox Plate and then up to the Melbourne Cup and Ciaron has set him specifically for this race after he won at Eagle Farm in the winter.

“I like the planning for the horse. He ran third in it last year and is in it with a great chance.”

The big-race rider just combined with Maher to win the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1,200m) with The Next Episode on Oct 31, but he said victory in the Melbourne Cup is on another level.

“I think once you have success in the Melbourne Cup, the Caulfield Cup and these big races, you long for that feeling,” said Zahra.

“Going to Flemington, you look around, the numbers, it gets me right up and about.

“It’s a race you want to win and once you’ve achieved it, you become confident and you really embrace these big days.” SKY RACING WORLD