He has won the race three times and tries to enter when he can. “Last year I didn’t because it was a couple of days before I was going to compete in Australia. ‘’It’s just something different, a little bit of a challenge. I do surf life saving, but in the pool I’m considered a distance swimmer, so it’s a bit of a change.’’ Reid, who met the 800-metre Freestyle qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics at a meet in December, is the only three-time winner of the cup in competition and will start as the clear favourite.