His filly, Smart Mellay, ran the winner to a half-neck margin in the penultimate renewal of the race at Riccarton before it was moved to Trentham two years later, and he has been hankering for a win in the 3yr-old fillies' classic ever since.
Perhaps that win could come tomorrow with Include.
It would be an appropriate win for Anderton, for whom family is an integral part of his operation.
He trains the filly with his son, Shane, and is leaving the raceday duties in Wellington to Shane, as his grandson, Jacob Lowry (15), has his first race-day ride on Valiant at Wyndham on Sunday.
Include is raced by Anderton's daughter, Karen, and her husband, Wayne Stewart, who run the farm's breeding operation at White Robe Lodge.
Miss Selby, Rock Diva, Chop Chop and Moozoom loom as the major threats to Include, but Anderton anticipates the litmus test will come in the last 400m of the 2400m group 1 race around the Trentham track.
''I guess the burning question is how many of them will get the mile and a-half,'' Anderton said.
''I don't know the North Island form, but I'm just looking at it as an open race and going in to it with confidence.''
The lead-up for Include lost some momentum when a rating 85 2000m race at Motukarara on March 6 was canned due to a lack of nominations (although the meeting was later abandoned due to surface water).
Anderton said the lack of a race was not a major concern.
''Not really - she was ready for that, and I got that bit of work in to her in-between [at Wingatui on Saturday],'' he said.
''Of course, you've got to allow for the trip [to Wellington], too, because that's as good as a race.''
The Andertons have managed the daughter of Gallant Guru carefully since her winning debut in late September, mixing her distances from 1200m to 1600m, including her last-start victory in the Southland Guineas at Ascot Park over 1600m last month.
The extra 800m is a big ask, but Anderton said there was only one way to find out whether she will still be running on at the end of the staying distance.
''She's a quality filly but it's like a horse running a two-mile [3200m] race,'' he said.
''They've got to get two miles and a 3yr-old filly has got to get a mile and a-half [2400m], hasn't she?New Zealand TAB fixed odds bookmaker Stephen Hunt said the money had been quite even around the top four or five fillies in the New Zealand Oaks market.
''There's been a little bit of interest for Include at $12,'' Hunt said.
''The best-backed is Rock Diva [$4.80 in to $4.50] but they haven't gone off Moozoon. There's even a little bit of money on Miss Selby and Sports Illustrated.''
Paul Richards was walking the Trentham track when the Otago Daily Times called him yesterday, a few hours after he arrived in Wellington with Include and his galloper, Natuzzi.
Both thoroughbreds had handled the float trip well. It included a stop in Christchurch on Wednesday night.
Natuzzi is in Wellington to defend his Lightning Stakes title over 1200m and has drawn barrier 9.
''It's all right - he'll get a position there somewhere and a bit of cover,'' Richards said.
Natuzzi will carry the equal top-weight of 59kg with Antonio Lombardo. Richards was philosophical about the weight.
''It's 1.5kg more than he carried last year but that's just the way it is,'' he said.
''We'll just turn up in good order and look for a bit of luck in the running.''
