Parchment Party is set to become the first American-trained horse to contest the Melbourne Cup after a gritty win in the Birdstone Stakes at Saratoga.
The four-year-old followed up his Melbourne Cup ballot-exempt victory in the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup with another strong performance, prompting connections to confirm plans for a Cup campaign.
“It’s our plan, go to the Melbourne Cup,” said Dana Bernhard from Pin Oak Stud.
“(We) quarantine in England, then go onto Australia for quarantine and see how we go.”
Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Parchment Party will travel to England first before joining a group of European horses bound for Flemington on November 4.
In the Birdstone (2816m), run on dirt, the son of Constitution surged late on the rail to win by a length over Digital Ops, taking his record to four wins from 11 starts.
“He’s a big horse and he’ll run through anything,” added Jim Bernhard.
While no U.S.-trained horse has started in the Cup, past Belmont Gold Cup winners like Red Cardinal, Amade, Baron Samedi and Loft have all raced in Australia.