Black Piranha goes into the 2011 BTC Cup as a huge underdog and hasn’t been given a chance by anyone so far this week.

His recent results haven’t warranted any great level of faith especially considering he’s running into the world’s best racehorse Black Caviar.

Trainer Con Karakatsanis isn’t phased in the slightest though and will treat the BTC Cup just like he would any other.

“He’s great, it’s probably been a bit of a blessing in disguise that all the build up has been on the Black Caviar / Hay List show,” He said.

“He’ll race well tomorrow, he’s probably only 85% fit but that’s how I want him leading into his first up run working towards the Stradbroke.”

Black Piranha is equal second last on the line of betting so finding a jockey with real belief is imperative for a race like this.

Because of this he’ elected to use Mathew Palmer  who is renowned for his enthusiasm to win on every ride he takes and a rider who Karakatsanis trusts immensely.

“He’s a great mate of mine, I’ve been friends with Matty for a long time now,” he said.

“He’s an up and coming young rider who I’ve got a lot of respect for.

“One of the main reasons why I’ve put Matty on is I know he’ll be out there riding his best for me, I’m sure he’ll do his best for me and the owner.”

While the odds suggest Black Piranha is simply an ‘also ran’ it’s worth remembering that this is a Group 1 winning horse.

“People seem to forget that he’s a dual Stradbroke winner and his form is quite well,” Karakatsanis said.

“He got beaten a neck to Hot Danish down in Sydney, his form over 1200m is quite good.”

Like a lot of older horses Black Piranha also tends to run well fresh in his preparation.

This will be his first up test for 2011 so the speed of the race will likely determine what hope he has.

“If they jump out and just go at a moderate tempo he’ll find it hard to sprint with the likes of Black Caviar and Hay List,” he said.

“But if it goes along at a nice tempo I can see him coming out there and running a nice race.”