Michael Owen goes from Red Devil to Brown Panther in silverware search

HE won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup, and played at a World Cup - now Michael Owen is chasing his first Melbourne Cup.

Chris Ely winces as Brown Panther shakes sand over him after a roll at Werribee. Picture: Colleen Petch

HE won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup, and played for England at a World Cup - now former football star Michael Owen is chasing his very first Melbourne Cup.

Owen will touch down in Melbourne today ahead of Tuesday's big race where the horse he part-owns, Brown Panther, will try to upstage some of the biggest names in racing.

And according to English trainer Tom Dascombe, Owen has never been so pumped.

"He sent me a text yesterday saying, `I've never been so excited','' Dascombe said.

"He's pretty keen.''

Amazingly, Dascombe revealed he didn't have a clue who Owen actually was when they first spoke.

Owen, 33, is basically a football icon worshipped at powerhouse club Liverpool, then later at clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United. The baby-faced striker was even crowned with football's highest honour, the Ballon d'Or.

But Dascombe happily admitted he didn't like football.

Chris Ely winces as Brown Panther shakes sand over him after a roll at Werribee. Picture: Colleen Petch

"I was training at Lambourn and Michael basically rang me up one day and said, `fancy coming here?','' said Dascombe, a no-nonsense bloke who comes across as more Noel Gallagher than Prince Harry.

"We went from there. I had no idea who he was. I'm not really a football fan.

"I've been to Manchester United a few times when he was playing and I enjoyed it, but I've got more interest in the horses than I do in football.''

Jockey Richard Kingscote is another Englishman who says he doesn't really follow football, which probably helped with any expectations or nerves when riding for a high-profile owner like Owen.

"I like my motorbikes,'' Kingscote said.

"I've had a couple of people ask for tickets, or get a T-shirt signed, little things like that. It's never a problem for Michael.''

Brown Panther is a $21 chance for the Cup, and lumped 60.5kg to victory in the Group 2 Goodwood Cup (3219m) two starts back.

Dascombe said the Cup had been pencilled in two years ago after Brown Panther, a six-year-old stallion, won a race by six lengths at Royal Ascot.

"You don't come here on a whim,'' Dascombe said.

"After he won at Royal Ascot, that's when we started making plans about this race.

"I don't think he's necessarily well handicapped for this race. He's giving weight to a lot of horses, and if we met them at home, he'd be getting weight off them. That's the way it is. But I'd rather win the Goodwood Cup and carry a couple of more pounds here than not win that race.

Brown Panther stretches out with Andrew Jackson aboard during trackwork at Werribee. Picture: Getty Images

"We haven't done a lot with him. He's one of those horses who gives his best every day. You're worried all the time because we he walks, he walks fast, when he trots, he goes fast, when he gallops, he wants to put it all in. You need to hold him back a bit, otherwise he seems fresh ... we don't want to do too much with him.''

On another murky morning as the internationals worked at Werribee:

#THE Red Cadeaux camp said they would be "disappointed if he doesn't finish in the top four'';

#AUSSIE jockeys Tommy Berry and Kerrin McEvoy punched around Tres Blue and Royal Empire respectively; and

#SUAVE Italian Luca Cumani chose his words carefully when referring to Englishman Ryan Moore's effort on Mount Athos' in last year's Cup, and said: "Things didn't pan out, the plan was not implemented.'' Cumani has since booked Craig Williams.