The Bendigo trainer was fortunate to be a part of the Cup day excitement in 1986, when his late father George Symons saddled up a runner in Australia's most famous horse race.

While the four-year-old Fordyce finished well back in the field in the race won by At Talaq, it's an experience Symons, who was in the mounting yard that day and has trained hundreds of winners since, won't easily forget.

Memories of Fordyce and the 1986 Melbourne Cup were rekindled in recent months as the Josh Julius-trained Super Girl attempted to become the first Bendigo-trained horse to qualify for the race that stops a nation in 34 years.

Sadly, hopes of a Cup berth vanished when the talented six-year-old was scratched from the Moonee Valley Gold Cup on W.S. Cox Plate day and later sustained a fatal injury to her near foreleg in last Wednesday's Group 3 Bendigo Cup.

Symons clings to hope that Bendigo's Melbourne Cup runner drought will eventually be broken.

"In Super Girl we had one who had a chance - maybe three lengths closer (in the Bart Cummings) and she would have been in," he said.

"It's certainly a lot tougher these days, up against the international horses, so it was a big effort to get close."

A glut of overseas bred and trained runners in the Melbourne Cup was a novel concept back in November 1986 when Fordyce took his place in the field for the Group 1 feature at odds of near 100-1.

While it was an exciting day for the family, in particular George, Symons said his overwhelming memory of the day was being a bundle of nerves.

"I was just there helping mum and dad, but I didn't enjoy the day that much as I was so nervous throughout," he said.

"You wanted to see him (Fordyce) do well, but he was probably never going to feature.

"His form wasn't really all that good leading into it, but we qualified and dad was adamant he was going to have a go, as all owners and trainers do.

"But realistically it was always going to be tough. We just wanted to see him finish in the first 10 and get some of your money back."

Symons was not the only member of the family to suffer a bout of nerves.

"It was exciting for us, but dad couldn't sleep at night, he had to go out and sleep with the horse, just in case something happened to him," he said.

"I don't think anyone was going to bother with a 100-1 shot.

"But to have a locally bred and owned horse in the Melbourne Cup, it was a huge thrill."

Given the huge international interest accompanying the Cup these days and the much-stricter qualifying conditions, Symons conceded horses like Fordyce would not get close to running in a Melbourne Cup in the current era.

Victory in the Listed A. R. Creswick Stakes at Flemington as a three-year-old was enough for the Bendigo-trained galloper to become eligible for the famous race.

"It's a 1200m race now, but at the time it was a 2000m race," Symons explained.

"It was only his sixth start and Darren Gauci rode him in that.

"That had the conditions to get you into the Cup. Of course, we didn't have internationals then - it wasn't as tough to get in there as it is now.

"His next start he went out and ran in the VRC St Leger and ran second, and he also had a crack at the South Australian Derby that autumn.

"He then came out as a four-year-old and ran in the Cup."

A nevertheless quality field of stayers contained four either past or eventual Melbourne Cup winners - Black Knight, who was running in his third and final Melbourne Cup race after winning in 1984, Kiwi, who stormed to victory in 1983, Empire Rose, who was making her first of four attempts at the race and won in 1988, and of course At Talaq.

A rarity back then, but par for the course these days, At Talaq, who was superbly ridden by Michael Clarke, was bred and started his racing career overseas in England before being sent to Australia at the start of 1986.

The six-year-old provided champion trainer Colin Hayes with the second of his two Cup wins following his victory six years earlier with Beldale Ball.

Rising Fear, ridden by Bob Skelton, ran a bold race at 50-1 to finish second, a long-neck behind the winner, with Sea Legend (20-1) third for the trainer-jockey combination of Colin Alderson and Shane Dye.

Kiwi (15-1), who at one point looked like replicating his barnstorming victory of three years earlier, broke down in the concluding stages, but held on for fourth ahead of Empire Rose.

The 5-1 favourite Mr Lomondy finished eighth, with Fordyce, ridden by Gary Doughty, beating three runners home in 19th place.

A gruelling race would take its toll on more than just Kiwi.

"The ground was rock hard for the Cup, and At Talaq won it, but not many of those horses went on and ran for a long time, or raced at all after that," Symons recalled.

"It was a gruelling preparation for a lot them. It's not like the internationals now, they seem to back up a week later in the Sandown Cup, or something.

"Poor old Fordyce, he jarred up and was sore and then he got an injury. It was two years before he came back and raced. He was a stallion as well.

"He came back for a welter handicap at Bendigo with Colin Browell on board over 1400m and he won.

"It was a really satisfying win to come back and do that.

"It wasn't long after that we retired him and he stood as a stallion at our farm at Lockwood.

"He bred 13 runners for nine winners, including a metropolitan winner."

Now a trainer on the Gold Coast, Doughty, who was in the saddle that day, remembers it with clarity..

Fordyce was one of three Melbourne Cup rides during his career, with his best result a ninth in 1987 behind Kensei on Beau Trist, who he rode to victory in that year's Geelong Cup.

"He was a grey horse, and there's not too many grey Sir Tristrams and I ran third on him the start before in the Werribee Cup," Doughty said.

"He just didn't quite get the two-miles, but most of all I remember he jarred up badly getting to the line.

"I probably haven't got a lot of memory of At Talaq, I was probably eating his dirt down the back of the field.

"But Fordyce, he let down and didn't quite get the trip, but as I say, it was disappointing he did jar up so badly."

Doughty, who is best remembered for his win on 250-1 chance Abaridy in the 1986 Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, but was forced to retire from riding 20 years ago after suffering an eye injury in a fall, said Fordyce was one of only a handful of rides he had for George Symons.

"I rode a couple here and there and had a little bit of luck for him," he said.

"I do remember having a lot of respect for George.

"It would have been a big thrill for him and Bendigo, having a Cup runner.

"I was based on the Peninsula on the other side of town and used to ride work at Cranbourne in the morning.

"I got the phone call one morning asking if I'd ride him in the Werribee Cup and he got a light weight in the Melbourne Cup so I got to ride him again. I'm sure they're the only two rides I had on him.

"The Melbourne Cup is so much bigger these days than it was back then - you sort of took it for granted until later on.

"You just took it in your stride at the time, but now looking back you think much more of it.

"Being such a lightweight, I was able to pick up rides reasonably easily."

Not unexpectedly, Fordyce's Melbourne Cup tilt drew plenty of media coverage in the horse and trainer's hometown.

Symons recalled one of the funnier moments.

"Alan Besley worked for the WIN News and he asked dad: 'What's your biggest dangers, George'," he said.

"Dad just said, 'All of them,' which kind of went without saying when you've got a 100-1 shot running around.

"They played the interview at dad's funeral."

While it did not result in a win, the 1986 Melbourne Cup proved one of the standout moments of George Symons' racing career, up there with his Group 3 Victoria Handicap win with Aisle, his Vanity Stakes win with Akarana and a record 14 wins at the Bendigo racecourse with Fontein.

For his son Rod, it created a memory to last a lifetime.

"I'd like to have another day like it," he said.

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