When you think of the Cox Plate you associate Australia's greatest weight-for-age race with some of this country's greatest and highest-profile trainers.
Names such as Bart Cummings, Gai Waterhouse, Lee Freedman and young guns Mick Price and Mark Kavanagh all spring to mind.
All five will be represented by highly-fancied runners in the $3 million race at Moonee Valley on Saturday as will a 24-year-old trainer who is virtually unknown in Victoria in former jockey Con Karakatsanis.
And, far from making up the numbers, Karakatsanis will have his first Cox Plate runner and indeed his first runner in Melbourne full stop with the highly consistent Black Piranha.
The six-year-old gelding is currently on the equal-fifth line of betting at $16 on the strength of establishing himself as one of Australia's most in-form gallopers over the past 18 months.
Prior to running sixth in the Group One Toorak Handicap (1600 metres) at Caulfield on October 10 when he was beaten less than two lengths by Allez Wonder, Black Piranha had incredibly run first or second in his previous six starts with the highlight being a Group One win in the Stradbroke Handicap over 1400 metres in Brisbane in June to hand Karakatsanis his first win at racing's highest level.
And if you go back further, Black Piranha had in fact not finished worse than fourth in his past 21 starts prior to the Toorak Handicap, although most of his racing has been done in far weaker company in New South Wales and Queensland.
But Karakatsanis says Black Piranha will be far from out of his depth against the country's best horses on Saturday.
"I don't think the (2040 metre) trip is any issue with his horse at all," he said.
"He jumps very well, you can posy him up anywhere and as soon as you drop your hands he relaxes very well."
"And he has got that ability to hit top gear very, very quickly."
Karakatsanis says Black Piranha, which has drawn barrier eight, will get back - alongside hot favourite Whobegotyou - and will be swooping late.
"With a bit of speed from the outside (through noted frontrunner Sir Slick which has drawn barrier 11) he will be getting back and hopefully he can get a nice tag on the back of Whobegotyou or Road To Rock or something that can bring him into the race."
"He is the type of horse that doesn't want to be hitting the front too early, he is the type of horse that needs to ping off their back at the right time and hopefully he is good enough to win."
"But even if he is not I am still proud just to have Black Piranha in the Cox Plate."