"First time we brought him out here to take a couple of photos he got very stirred up," Muskoka Farm's Wendy Lapointe says as the rising seven-year-old stands quietly observing his new surroundings and the river. "He is better today, he has calmed down a bit and got used to it."

It is hard not to be calm at Muskoka Farm, 75 kilometres north-west of Sydney, where the wind in the trees and birds calling are usually the only sounds. Apart from the buzz of horses working. It is remote and the best way to get there is via the crossing at Wisemans Ferry by car, though flying in is another option. "Gee he looks like he has travelled well and he's a magnificent type," said Gary Moore, who will be looking after Dan Excel for his brother John from his new Rosehill operation while he is in Australia. "He hasn't lost much condition from that outstanding win in Singapore in record time. I know this is another challenge that the owner and John are very keen on."

Dan Excel won last year's group 1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin and May's group 1 Singapore International Cup at his last start. He also has five runners-up finishes at the top level, as well as a third to Variety Club in his Champions Mile defence. He has the profile to make a mark during the spring and has been given every chance by getting here so early. The Shamardal gelding did first piece of work around the nine-shaped track at Muskoka, which boats a straight 1000-metre run to the finish, last week and will head to Rosehill on Moore's opening day on August 3. There won't be too much time for a holiday at Muskoka, which his owner David Boehm has taken a share in with founder Bob Lapointe.

"It is a piece of horse heaven up there," Boehm said. "I was a client for many years and when the opportunity came to get a share, I couldn't help myself. It is a perfect environment for horses. I live in Hong Kong and you don't get that up there."

Boehm, an expatriate, has always wanted to win a group 1 in Australia. He said the Doncaster Mile had been a target for Dan Excel but the strict quarantine laws in Australia made it difficult. "We looked at it but it was just too hard because the quarantine is in-and-out in Hong Kong and, if he was to come, it would have shut down one barn just for him," he said.

It meant a preparation at home, ironically the best of his career, for runners-up finishes in group 1s from 1400m to 2000m, the Stewards Cup, Hong Kong Cup and Jubilee Cup, before his third in the Champions Mile and the win in Singapore.

"That was very emotional, especially with Tommy Berry riding him, for obvious reasons, being the place his brother rode for the last time," Boehm said. "But I have wanted to win a group 1 over here and the Cox Plate is one of the biggest, so we decided to have a shot at it and do it the right way."

Boehm will head out to Muskoka on Monday to see Dan Excel with Berry, who will have first refusal on the ride. "We know Tommy is riding for Gai [Waterhouse] out here and if he can't ride, then we will probably bring in someone from Hong Hong. Joao Moreira rides a lot for John," Boehm said. "We will talk about that with Tommy [on Monday]."

John Moore has set out a program which might not be traditional for the Cox Plate but follows a similar progression to one that delivered success in Singapore. Gary Moore will oversee the day-to-day work for Dan Excel and his brother will fly in for the crucial gallops, and Gary is clearly excited.

"The plan is the Sir Rupert Clarke [Stakes] then the Toorak [Handicap] before the Cox Plate," Gary said. "Then I think they are looking to get him back to Hong Kong for the international weekend.

"It will be good to have a horse like him in the stable because having a good one is always important, even if it isn't mine."

Moore has been away from Australia "too long", building a successful career in Macau, where he is set to win his eighth premiership this season.

"It was time to come home with my boys," he said. "I decided I wanted to come back and it took about 14 months to get boxes. The way racing in Australia is run is very professional and prizemoney is exceptional. It was the right time to come back."

Moore spent the morning driving around the outside of the track as Dan Excel worked, as did a 100 or so more at Muskoka Farm. He constantly questions Englishman Tim Clark, who has been at the farm for more than 30 years.

"He's a good mover ... How does he do [on his food] ... He will be ready on August 3," Moore said as he made notes on his team at Muskoka.

Clark jokes with Moore as he answers, "I hope he has a good trainer when he leaves here." He is a horseman who had a brief stint as a jockey before working under Noel Murless and Sir Henry Cecil at Warren Place. However, three decades ago he came to Australia and Muskoka and it has become home.

Clark has been here through many different eras. The paddocks carry the names of Brian Mayfield-Smith's champion horses. It was Muskoka who played a key role in Mayfield-Smith's dethroning of Tommy Smith as Sydney's premier trainer after 33 years in the 1985-86 season.

"It was a numbers game to win the premiership and we would have a lot horses up here, ready to go when Brian needed them," Clark said. "One would go for a spell and another would come from here ready to race."

Ironically, the property has played a role in the success of Gai Waterhouse, Smith's daughter.

"Gai and her jockeys used to come up on a seaplane, land on the river and have 20 in full work here," Clark said. "Sebring was here during [equine influenza] and never got it. We could work him and he always came back here."

So, there is plenty of history at Muskoka and Dan Excel could be another success story.