STEVE McKEE, one half of the famed Sunline training team, has no doubt Kiwi thoroughbreds will play a big part at the Melbourne spring carnival.

Whether horses such as McKee's Boundless, the New Zealand benchmark Princess Coup, and Nom Du Jeu, which won the AJC Australian Derby last autumn, can beat Weekend Hussler remains to be seen.

"They'll be competitive," McKee said. "I don't think anyone has a horse that can beat Weekend Hussler but we are right up there with the rest of the Australian horses and anything can happen on race day."

You only have to remember what happened to Maldivian in the Caulfield Cup last year.

The stayer was set to start one of the shortest-priced favourites in the race in recent times but was scratched after rearing in the starting stalls and gashing its neck.

"Princess Coup is our benchmark but Nom Du Jeu is going to be very hard to beat as well," McKee said. "They have all performed over there [Australia] before. She [Princess Coup] was unlucky not to have won any of the big three over there last autumn.

"She was second in the Australian Cup, the Ranvet and The BMW and probably a bit stiff in all three of them. Nom Du Jeu had two starts, won the derby and was just pipped in the Queen Elizabeth."

Princess Coup and Nom Du Jeu clashed in the Stony Bridge Stakes at Hastings on Saturday with the mare rattling home from last to run down the derby winner, which was coming off a first-up win.

"Princess Coup was very, very good yesterday," he said.

"I think the race exposed a lot of horses, ones we thought were better than what they are, but Nom Du Jeu sat three wide without cover, that was a top run."

Boundless, which was runner-up in Heavenly Glow's AJC Australian Oaks having won the fillies' classic in New Zealand, followed a brilliant first-up win at Tauranga with a fifth behind Gaze in an Open Handicap at Pukekohe yesterday.