Growing up, Luke Murrell thought being a rugby league talent scout - just like his neighbour, foundation Knights coaching director Allan Bell - would be "awesome".
And while his passion for horse racing took over, Murrell has adopted Bell's same drive and commitment to find special talents and take them to amazing heights.
Murrell and Australian Bloodstock co-founder Jamie Lovett were celebrating a second Melbourne Cup win on Tuesday for the Hunter syndication company.
Like German stayer Protectionist in 2014, French import Gold Trip produced a dominant finish to give Australian Bloodstock the race that stops a nation.
Murrell and Lovett have built their success of finding the right European horses to buy, syndicate and bring to Australia for the Cup carnival and beyond.
And just like Bell, who was known for his meticulous video analysis for game plans and when mentoring the likes of Immortal Andrew Johns, Murrell has put in countless hours perfecting his system, watching replays and studying form to find the right talent.
"It was very satisfying," Murrell said of watching his recruit win the $8 million race. "That's the thing I like most about this. I've always wanted to be a talent scout for the footy.
"We used to live up the road from Allan Bell, who used to be the talent scout for the Knights, and I always thought that would be awesome.
"So in a way I get to do that, just with the horses."
Some, like Gold Trip - their most expensive buy, cost seven-figures, making Tuesday's win a relief for Murrell.
He was allowing himself a night off on Tuesday to savour the win but said he was back to work on Wednesday.
"You can't afford to miss too many, there's just too much work to catch up on," he said.
He said Gold Trip, which was a close second in the $5 million Caulfield Cup, had "doubled his money easily" with his success in Australia.
Murrell said it was special to again share the moment with long-time business partner, Lovett.
"There's lots that happens behind the scenes that people don't see, lots of hard work, but it's really good to share it with a really good fella," he said.
"It makes it a bit more satisfying, so it's great."
The win also continued a burgeoning relationship with Victorian trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, who claimed their first Cup.
German trainer Andreas Wohler prepared Protectionist eight years earlier for Australian Bloodstock, who also have a large team of horses with top Newcastle trainer Kris Lees.
"They've got a very good record with their stayers," Murrell said of Maher and Eustace.
"We've had a lot of big race success with different trainers now, and I suppose it's about keeping the same system in place and keep trying to find the fast horses."
But connections, including part-owners from Newcastle, Tony Price and Todd Buckingham, are confident of more success with six-year-old stallion Gold Trip, which has had just 16 starts and only six in Australia. Murrell said Gold Trip was "terrific" after the race.
"He's got an awesome set of lungs and he pulled up really, really well," he said.
"It can be a really taxing race but the way he looked straight after the race, he's still got plenty of juice left in him.
"He'll come back for the autumn and I wouldn't count him out of a Queen Elizabeth or a BMW [Stakes].
"He hasn't had much racing, so we'll see him again, that's for sure."
Beyond racing, Gold Trip, like Protectionist, should also be an exciting stud prospect for Australian Bloodstock.
