Emma-Lee and David Browne have opted to press on with Statuario in a final bid to land their local Cup at Pakenham.

The New Zealand training duo relocated to Victoria in 2022 and have been based at Pakenham since the start of last season.

A win in Saturday’s Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) would cap the journey in memorable style.

“It would be great to win the local Cup,” Emma-Lee Browne said.

“And I reckon the party at the Garfield pub would be wild.

“It’s nice to have runners on the day and being from the area, hopefully it’s a good day.”

The decision followed Statuario’s strong third in the Listed Ballarat Cup (2000m) last weekend.

“It was one of those unfortunate races at Cranbourne where he couldn’t get out and there was little he could do about it,” Browne said.

“The horse is very well. We’re very happy with how he came through Ballarat, but we don’t want to see too much rain on Saturday.”

Statuario previously won at Caulfield before finishing second in the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m).