"I'm three quarters of the way there already, there's no point going home."
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He may have copped a wide barrier, but Wagga trainer Gary Colvin remains optimistic Forever Newyork will make the 30-hour round trip to the Gold Coast worth it when he races in Saturday's Magic Millions Country Cup (1200m).
After two consecutive wins at Wagga, Colvin opted against running the rejuvenated seven-year-old on his home track on Thursday to instead target the rich $242,500 event.
Forever Newyork will be ridden by Brad Stewart, and has drawn barrier 16. Colvin said it makes an already difficult task that much tougher.
"It makes it a bit harder but I'll just leave it up Brad, we've just got to roll with it," he said.
"I'll talk to Brad about what the pattern of the race will be, but I'd imagine we might have to be a bit more positive with him.
"I was thinking of changing my mind (about racing him on Gold Coast) at one point, but here we are. I've just decided to come up to the sales a bit earlier."
A persistent hoof injury has made it difficult for Colvin to get the necessary work into the horse for most of his career, but he now feels he is about to return to his peak.
A chance to see what he can do against top class opposition now he's nearing his best proved too tempting for Colvin to resist.
"We've had a bit of trouble with him but he's been on the improve, and it's the first time we've had him at 100 per cent," Colvin said.
"He's a big rangy horse, and after a couple of wins he's looking good."
"It's a big reason to bring him up, you don't want to die wondering."
Colvin has his fingers crossed the long journey across the border won't harm Forever Newyork's chances.
They stayed at Tamworth on Tuesday night, before completing the rest of the trip on Wednesday.
"The one thing we're worried about is the travel up here, we hope it doesn't knock him around too much," he said.
"He isn't too bad at the moment. Usually it's pretty humid up here this time of year, but it's not that bad.
"He's been to Sydney a few times and it hasn't worried him much, but it's obviously a 15-hour trip up here.
"It would be great (to win it). A lot of the owners are making their way up."
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