Such is the internationalisation of the racing scene, key reference points along a path to Australian spring riches are now scattered across the globe.
Leading syndicator OTI Racing has already reached one crucial juncture as it assembles a team of spring contenders directed at the best races over the next two months.
In England, two of the syndicator’s horses earmarked for Australian excursions are at the business stage of their northern hemisphere preparations for their trip to Melbourne.
Cox Plate hopeful Docklands and unqualified Melbourne Cup entry Sea King are in training under quarantine protocols at Newmarket before heading this way as part of the first shipment of spring carnival horses from the UK and Ireland.
On the domestic front, another spring landmark awaits OTI’s Terry Henderson when the Queensland Derby winner Warmonger resumes at Flemington on Saturday.
There will be an old-school feel, with a modified approach to how Australian stayers are now trained for their spring targets, about Warmonger’s return in the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes.
Historically, the Makybe Diva, or the Craiglee Stakes as it used to be, has been a pivotal race for horses on their way to a Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup.
Not a defining contest by any stretch, but a 1600m race where ’handicappers‘ disadvantaged under the weight-for-age scale were expected to reveal the first glimpse of their bona fides for the Cups after a lead-up run or two.
For Warmonger, the Makybe Diva represents the start of a spring campaign built on a platform of immense public expectation after destroying his rivals in a 10-1/2 length Queensland Derby win in June.
He is a throwback to an era when - almost by default - Derby winners were installed as favourites for next season’s spring Cups.
Warmonger resumes as an equal top pick to win the Caulfield Cup but Henderson been around long enough to keep an open mind about how the spring will unfold for OTI’s most recent Group 1 winner.
Henderson has been involved in countless spring campaigns, experiencing the highs of Doriemus claiming the Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup double in 1995.
There have also been close calls like Bauer’s photo-finish defeat in the 2008 Melbourne Cup.
Horses have gone amiss at the wrong time, such as Mark Twain and the tendon injury that ruled him out of contention this year.
It’s no wonder Henderson is approaching the Makybe Diva with a sense of caution.
“You’re always a bit nervous about how these horses come into open company from their three-year-old season,” Henderson told The Straight.
“So we’re just being careful not to get too carried away.
“We’ve seen so many horses basically get cooked by pushing them in their four-year-old year when they weren’t ready for it.
“Races like the Caulfield Cup are such tough races. When you get these hardened handicappers, the younger horses simply lack that ringcraft.”
Henderson expects Warmonger to turn in an old-style stayer's return against a Makybe Diva field that is dominated by established weight-for-age horses such as Via Sistina, Mr Brightside and Pride Of Jenni.
His expectations are modest, and he has an eye for the deeper part of the spring.
“I’d imagine he be sitting back in the last three and you’d just want him to peel out and run some good sectionals and that will have him ready for the Turnbull Stakes and then we’ll put him into the Caulfield Cup,” Henderson said.
“He’s a definite stayer and I don’t think he’s got the brilliance to be competitive until he gets to a mile-and-a-half.”
The Makybe Diva is also a significant race for another horse on a Cups trail.
Circle Of Fire steps out for the first time since beating OTI’s Athabascan in the Sydney Cup at his fourth Australian start.
They are destined to meet again at Flemington, with Henderson anointing Athabascan as his No.1 seed for the Melbourne Cup.
On the strength of that Sydney Cup victory, Circle Of Fire was promoted to the top of Melbourne Cup betting, a position he shares with Ireland's Vauban who will return to Australia after finishing midfield in last year's race as one of the favourites.
