IRISH training genius Aidan O'Brien is poised to pull off -another $3 million Cox Plate heist at Moonee Valley on Saturday with a horse boasting very Australian bloodlines. 
If successful, Highland Reel will provide the Coolmore team with a second successive win in the nation's weight-for-age championship after it scored a historic triumph with Adelaide 12 months ago.
O'Brien has adopted a similar Cox Plate preparation for Highland Reel, who comes to Melbourne after winning the Group 1 Secretariat Stakes in Chicago, the same race Adelaide won en route to Australia.
Highland Reel is a three-year-old by northern hemisphere time, as Adelaide was last year, and will be asked to carry 56kg in the Cox Plate.
Coolmore Australia's Tom Magnier said his charge compares favourably with Adelaide.
"Aidan learned a lot from the Adelaide experience last year and he identified Highland Reel early on as a similar type of horse that could do well in a Cox Plate," Magnier said.
"What Adelaide did before he came to Australia was remarkable because he did a lot of travelling and held his form. It worked for him but that doesn't mean it will work for Highland Reel.
"Highland Reel has the class but we will need a lot of luck on the day as this is a very good Cox Plate field." Highland Reel is a son of Adelaide's sire Galileo out of Hveger, the colonially bred mare who is a sister to Caulfield Cup winner Elvstroem, a half-sister to Doncaster Handicap winner Haradasun, and closely related to brilliant sprinter Starspangledbanner.
This is an Australian equine family O'Brien knows a lot about after Coolmore purchased Haradasun and Starspangledbanner and sent both to Ireland to race.
O'Brien prepared each horse for Group 1 glory at Royal Ascot, where Harada-sun won the Queen Anne Stakes and Starspangled-banner claimed the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
"Aidan knows this family very well and it has a real -Ballydoyle-Australian connection," Magnier said.
"Highland Reel really has that Australian stamp on him and we hope that might help his chances in the Cox Plate.
"Coolmore has a big presence in Australia and we want to win these big races. "Aidan has sent the same team to Melbourne with Highland Reel as we had last year with Adelaide and we are happy Ryan Moore is coming back to ride the horse on Saturday."The final field for the Cox Plate will be announced after the Breakfast With The Best trackwork this morning.