Andrea Atzeni is confident he can make another successful raid on an Australian Group One feature when he rides Zardozi in Saturday’s Caulfield Cup (2,400m).

One of five Hong Kong-based jockeys riding in major Australian races on Saturday, Atzeni hopes to replicate his last trip Down Under when he won the Group One Sydney Cup (3,200m) on Circle Of Fire in April.

The Sardinian rider was called on by Godolphin Australia’s head trainer, James Cummings, to ride Zardozi at the light weight of 51kg in the A$5 million (HK$25.95 million) feature.

Zardozi stamped her Caulfield Cup claims with a close second in the Group One The Metropolitan (2,400m) at Randwick last start behind Land Legend, who will be ridden by Hong Kong’s seven-time champion jockey Zac Purton in the Caulfield Cup.

Atzeni was impressed by the performance when watching on from Hong Kong.

“She ran a brilliant race and just got touched off by Land Legend,” Atzeni said.

“There wasn’t much between the two. She’s a good mare. It took her a couple of runs to get to her top. There’s a chance there might be a bit of rain around which she will like, too, so it’s a good ride to get.”

A winner of the Group One VRC Oaks (2,500m) at Flemington last year, Zardozi has recorded five of her six career wins on rain-affected tracks in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Kingman mare has drawn barrier 12 in the capacity field of 18. She will jump from 10 if the three reserves do not gain starts.

“Watching her races, she looks like she needs a bit of cover and she comes from midfield, so hopefully we’ll be able to get in from that draw and she can show a good kick, which she’s shown before,” Atzeni said.

While Atzeni is known as a lightweight rider, the 33-year-old has had to work hard to reduce his weight to ride Zardozi.

“It takes a bit of work because 51kg is light enough for me,” he said.

“My bottom weight in Hong Kong is about 52kg, which I have done quite a few times with a bit of a push. The good thing now is we’ve been racing for just over a month, so my weight is right where I want it to be.

“It took about three weeks for me to get to where I wanted to. Because of the weather change with the humidity, it takes a bit of time to adjust. It’s not an easy weight to get down to but hopefully it’s worth it.”

Zardozi is rated a strong chance in a wide-open edition of the Caulfield Cup, which is often the best form reference for next month’s Group One Melbourne Cup (3,200m) at Flemington.

Land Legend also has claims as Purton sets his sights on a second Caulfield Cup, following his success on Japanese stayer Admire Rakti in 2014.

However, Land Legend must overcome 83 years of history. The last horse to win the iconic race from barrier one was Velocity in 1941.

Ben Thompson and Karis Teetan are the other Hong Kong-based jockeys with Caulfield Cup rides. They hop aboard Sayedaty Sadaty and Coco Sun, respectively.

The Caulfield Cup will be beamed live into Hong Kong for betting, along with five races from Randwick and six from the British Champions Day meeting at Ascot on Saturday.

Brenton Avdulla will be in action aboard Storm Boy in much-anticipated sprint feature The Everest (1,200m) at Randwick.