In his 32 years of training in Newmarket, Luca Cumani has won headline races all over the world. The one that still eludes him also eludes everyone else from Britain but Cumani, unlike some, refuses to be beaten. This time, the Holy Grail that is the Melbourne Cup could finally come his way.

If Mad Rush or Bauer win this mystical prize at Flemington tomorrow, the historic nature of the achievement will be compromised only by the fact that Cumani is not, strictly, one of us. Though domiciled in Britain more than half his life, he was born in Milan to a champion trainer, Sergio, and his amateur jockey wife, Elena.

The irony amuses him, not least because it softens the instinctive hostility the Australians show to their traditional sporting foes. “Am I an honorary Brit out here? When they get into pommie-bashing, I say ‘hang on, I'm a wop'. But when they're nice, I allow them to consider me a pom.”

If he is afforded unusual respect, though, it may owe more to other elements - his civility, the startlingly attractive daughter he trusts to prepare the Cup horses, and finally the reverence he plainly feels for the race that is a national institution in Australia.

“I consider it important to challenge yourself and your thinking, rather than just going round and round in circles in England. But this is probably the ultimate challenge,” he said yesterday. “It's completely different from anything else we do. Many, many top trainers have tried it and failed.

“The quarantine rules are demanding. It takes 50-odd hours to fly the horses here. They need time to adjust and this is the one place where you are not allowed to bring out their usual food. The training track is not fantastic, so there is a big list of deterrents. Against that, the carrot is huge, in terms of the money and the prestige, it's beautifully organised and great to be part of the atmosphere.”

We were talking within the stark confines of his training quarters at Sandown racecourse, 15 miles out of the city. Cumani, 59, and his daughter, Francesca, arrive before 5am to fulfil their fixed training slot between 6 and 7am. “It's the only time we are allowed out of the gulag,” he said wryly.

Godolphin had been sharing the high-security compound but their hollow season was epitomised when All The Good joined the Australian fancy Efficient as a victim of late injury. Though Cumani's pair shorten in the betting with each defection, and Mad Rush could yet go off favourite, he takes no satisfaction in the news. “It's no cause for rejoicing - I know how hard it is to get horses to these races.”

Two years ago, he brought the Australian-owned Glistening and Soulacroix, who both ran down the field. Cumani learnt fast. Last year, Purple Moon was a close second. Now, in his choice of runners and his mastery of the project, he feels more content. Not confident, though. “I'm never confident of winning a race. So much can go wrong. The best I ever allow myself to be is hopeful.

“Of course, there is a lot of attention and expectation, too. I don't mind it here, because I only have two horses and I'm vastly underemployed. I'm not sure I could handle that sort of build-up while I'm training 100 horses in Newmarket.”

What he does fret about is the recession, which is already imposing its grim tidings. “I had a lot of cancelled orders for the yearling sales and didn't buy a single horse for a non-Arab. It's a worry long-term - two years from now, my three-year-olds will be very down.”

Cumani will survive and prosper, though, because of all British-based trainers, his is the reputation with the widest appeal.

It is reflected in his two Cup horses. Mad Rush is owned by an American property tycoon, the Honourable Earle Mack, while Bauer's part-owner is the former Australian cricketer, Simon O'Donnell. “I've had my fun ribbing him over the Aussies' performance in India but he's playing a pretty straight bat.”

His international outlook extends to jockeys - he will use Australians on both his Cup runners. “It's partly the long trip - unless you come out in plenty of time, you're not properly acclimatised and jockeys tend to arrive at the last minute. But the style of racing here is different from the rest of the world and, from what I hear, Australian jockeys are good at looking after each other, but not so good at looking after foreigners.”

Cumani fears that the Cup will follow the pattern of the year and see him subservient to Aidan O'Brien. “Septimus is the best horse in the field and Aidan is also trying to change the shape of the race. Up to now, the true two-miler wasn't much use here because the locals would go fast at first, then slow it right down. This year, Aidan has three runners and he's intent on making it a European race, with a strong pace throughout.”

He considers the one-dimensional nature of 2008 Flat racing without resentment. “I have nothing against Aidan winning. But it would be nice if I could win one or two myself. We've always travelled the horses, but to win here would be sensational.”