Six New Zealand-bred horses, the biggest representation for a decade, will tackle the A$7.75 million Lexus Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.

The Chosen One is the sole New Zealand owned, trained, and bred runner but Verry Elleegant, Surprise Baby, Etah James, Oceanex and Miami Bound will also represent the New Zealand breeding industry.

In addition, Verry Elleegant, and Etah James are part-owned in New Zealand and have both raced in their homeland.

New Zealand-bred horses were a dominant force in the Melbourne Cup for decades and won six in succession between 1974-79. When Ethereal – the last NZ-trained horse to win – was successful in 2001, horses bred in New Zealand had won 27 Melbourne Cups in the space of 45 years.

However, horses born in the northern hemisphere have held sway in the 21^st century, both in terms of runners and wins.

The northern hemisphere contenders – some trained in Australia and others making a hit and run appearance – have won 13 of the last 20 contests, with four winners bred in NZ and just three in Australia. Brew and Ethereal were NZ flagbearers in successive years and have been followed by Efficient (2007) and Prince Of Penzance (2015).

There have been only two NZ-bred Melbourne Cup runners in each of the last three years but the six acceptors this week is the biggest Kiwi challenge since 2010, when nine lined up and filled three of the top five placings.

Eleven New Zealand-breds tackled the 2009 Melbourne Cup but the northern hemisphere challenge evolved so quickly that there was not a single NZ-bred or trained horse in the 2013 field, breaking a run of more than 55 years.

 The Chosen One, Verry Elleegant and Etah James were all retained or syndicated by their breeders, though The Chosen One was passed-in at Karaka as a yearling.

Surprise Baby, Oceanex and Miami Bound were sold to Australian buyers as unraced youngsters, though for varying amounts.

Oceanex, a half-sister to this year’s Gold Trail Stakes winner Miss Aotearoa, made $70,000 at the premier session Karaka in 2017 and Miami Bound, the 2019 Victoria Oaks winner, was a $120,000 yearling buy at Karaka in 2018.

Oceanex was bred by Waikato breeder Tony Rider, who has a direct interest in two Cup runners, as he is also a part-owner of The Chosen One.

 A win for Surprise Baby, which is a real possibility, would show that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money to buy a Melbourne Cup winner.

A son of the 2009 Melbourne Cup winner Shocking, Surprise Baby was passed in as a yearling and at the Ready To Run sale, before being bought for $5500 on gavelhouse.com, as an unraced three-year-old.

NEW ZEALAND-BRED CUP CONTENDERS

Verry Elleegant - by Zed

Surprise Baby – by Shocking

The Chosen One – by Savabeel

Etah James – by Raise The Flag

Oceanex – by Ocean Park

Miami Bound – by Reliable Man

THE LAST 10 NEW ZEALAND-BRED WINNERS

2015 Prince Of Penzance – by Pentire

2007 Efficient – by Zabeel

2001 Ethereal – by Rhythm

2000 Brew – by Sir Tristram

1998 Jezabeel – by Zabeel

1997 Might And Power – by Zabeel

1995 Doriemus – by Norman Pentaquad

1991 Let’s Elope – by Nassipour

1989 Tawrrific – by Tawfiq

1988 Empire Rose – by Sir Tristram