“Win and you’re in” scenarios are fairly common in horse racing, but Bendigo Cup contender Amade simply has to run top three in Wednesday’s race to book his spot in next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.

It’s a strong position to be in for OTI Racing, which will race the former French galloper with Pakenham trainer Phillip Stokes.

“He just has to run a place, then he’s in the Cup,” OTI Racing director Terry Henderson said.

“We went to Geelong and missed the start there and ran a super race there [running fourth], and gave us confidence we really should be in the Melbourne Cup if we can get in.

“As it stands, we wouldn’t make it, so we’ll give him a go at Bendigo and hopefully run in the placings. That’ll put him in and if he pulls up OK – he’s been through the scans, he got in before it broke down – he’ll [run]. Hopefully he runs a place [on Wednesday].”

Henderson is confident the horse runs better the further out in distance he gets.

“He’s a 3000-metre horse,” he said.

“He won that race in New York over 3200 [Belmont Gold Cup]. He’s in really, really good order, the horse, and Phillip Stokes has done a terrific job with him. If he’s in the race, he’ll run the two miles out.”

Henderson, as experienced as there is when it comes to importing horses from Europe, said this year’s Cup was shaping up as a likely two-horse race between the hot favourite Incentivise and raider Spanish Mission, who brings some of the best staying form lines out of the UK.