He might be well known Down Under but there were some blank faces in Newmarket when it was revealed that Michael Rodd will be riding RED CADEAUX in the Melbourne Cup at Flemington on the first Tuesday in November.
However, one man who knows all about the talents of Mr Rodd is Luca Cumani, whose Purple Moon looked all over the winner of 'The Cup' four years ago until Michael swooped on 16-1 outsider Efficient, spoiling the Bedford House party with a half-length success.
Rodd has carved himself a nice little niche in Australia, as befits a young man whose first job when he left school at the age of 16 was an apprentice carpenter.
"They took one look at me and said that as a carpenter I'd make a very good jockey," recalled Rodd, who decided to take up his boss's advice and ditched the saw and chisel for a life in racing.
He rode his first winner at the small track of Grafton in 2000 and quickly made his mark, lifting the New South Wales apprentice title four years in a row.
Being brought up on the Central Coast of NSW, Rodd could have been forgiven if he had opted for the easy life as he was surrounded by waves and surf boards but that first success on Tornado Lass had ignited his passion for the sport of kings, and there was no turning back.
Recalling that never-to-be-forgotten triumph on Efficient, Rodd added: "I can still hear the roars of those 120,000 people after we won and it was the most amazing experience. I thought my name might never been on the Spring Carnival roll of honour after Maldivian had been forced to withdraw at the start of the Caulfield Cup in 2007. He was favourite for that race but cut himself on a piece of camera equipment attached to the barrier, so could not run."
"It was a huge disappointment but he bounced back and won the Cox Plate for me the following year. Ironically, the Caulfield Cup has proved a bit of a jinx race as I again rode the favourite this year, December Draw, an ex-Brit, who was trained by William Knight over there."
"December Draw did not have great form in Britain, winning three all-weather races but looking pretty ordinary on the turf but he proved a transformation when coming to Oz and looked to have a real big chance in the Caulfield Cup. Sadly, we trailed in last of 18 and it transpired that he had suffered a small fracture of his hind leg in the race."
"It is really exciting getting the ride on Red Cadeaux, who has decent form in Europe and I am really looking forward to get to know him. Things have gone great for me at this year's Spring Carnival and I have already won four Grade 1's. It would be fantastic to make it five in the 'Cup', and I will certainly be giving it my best shot."