Sportsbet Caulfield Cup (Group 1)
TRAINERS Tony and Calvin McEvoy have survived the pressure of preparing the Caulfield Cup favourite to celebrate as winners of the A$5 million Group 1 feature with Half Yours, whose jockey Jamie Melham (nee Kah) became the first woman to win the race in its 149 editions.
By the Irish-bred horse St Jean (by Teofilo), Half Yours, carrying 52.5 kgs, was a fast closing fourth last time out in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes, giving the bookmakers little wriggle room as the favourite tightened.
Midfield over the 2,400 metres by Melham, Half Yours was in the perfect spot on straightening, five to six horses-wide and challenging at the 200 metre mark. Timed to perfection by Melham, the win by a half-length was never in doubt.
Second was the Irish-bred Sea The Stars mare River Of Stars at near to 100/1, while Valiant King, by Roaring Lion and winner of the Bart Cummings, was third.
Internationals
The best of the internationals was Alessandro Botti’s Presage Nocturne in fourth. Willie Mullin’s Absurde ran seventh, Meydaan finished ninth and Golden Snap was 14th, eight lengths from the winner.
On Absurde’s run, jockey Ben Allen remarked, “Massive run. A little bit disappointed. We just copped interference right as he was picking up. If we hadn’t have copped that, he would have been right there in the finish.”
Raw emotion
“It means so much, doesn’t it?” said an elated Tony McEvoy. “I mean that is raw emotion and we work plenty hard in this game and it’s lovely when it comes off.
“It’s quite a proud moment for me to be able to do it with (son) Cal and yeah, it’s a really enjoyable moment for me. I mean, I was hoping he was going to be a doctor or something, but look, it was such a joy for me, for him to want to follow in my footsteps.
“In this business, you don’t own many things; in this business, what you’ve got is your intellectual property and if you’ve got no one to pass it to, it’s gone.”
Make me cry
It was just as emotional for Jamie Melham as the pair will now head to the Melbourne Cup with a weight of 53 kgs after their 1.5 kg penalty. “Just saying ‘Caulfield Cup’ is going to make me cry,” said a joyous Melham.
“I’ve had an incredible career and ridden 17 Group 1s now, but that major has obviously eluded me, and I just wanted to get one. But now I want maybe three more, maybe a Melbourne Cup. This horse is going to run the trip out!”
The four majors referred to are; the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Golden Slipper.
King Charles III Stakes (Group 1)
THE Tavistock gelding Ceolwulf defended his King Charles III Stakes win 12 months earlier after a clever ride by Chad Schofield that unlocked the form his trainer Joe Pride always knew he possessed. Finding the rail from barrier four and taking a sit mid-field, Schofield held fire on the bend as the leaders in front drifted up the track, opening the door for the five-year-old to exact full advantage.
Bursting clear in the final 50 of the race’s 1,609 metres, Ceolwulf downed the favourite Mr Brightside, by Bullbars, by two-lengths, with the Proisir gelding Pier in third.
“It’s been 12 months of waiting, really. I was here 12 months ago and I thought this is the best horse I’ll ever train, and we spent another 12 months waiting to see that again,” said Pride.
“I’m just glad to see him return to what he is capable of, because his best is better than a lot of the horses that have been beating him. We chucked the blinkers on him, it’s the first time today he’s ever worn them, and it’s done the trick. He just needed to find some room in the straight because he was full of running.
“This horse is a long way from being finished, there’s plenty of wins to come. He wins the races that count and gets beaten in a few that I guess don’t count as much.”
William Haggas’ Lake Forest was last of the 12.
Schweppes Thousand Guineas (Group 1)
THE Group 1 1000 Guineas at Caulfield has gone the way of Ole Dancer, a first-crop daughter of the Written Tycoon horse Ole Kirk.
Trained in partnership by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, Ole Dancer had a neck-and-neck tussle with the Flight Stakes winner Apocalyptic, the hot favourite, before just getting the better of the Extreme Choice filly near the line. Getta Good Feeling by So You Think took third.
“This has been the grand final all prep and it’s just great that when a plan comes off and you can win a Group 1,” said jockey Blake Shinn.
“Big thanks to Peter Moody and Kat, and the team, they’ve presented her in impeccable order today. It was an exciting race, a thrilling race for me to even ride in.
“Peter and Kat, you can just trust their horse’s fitness and when the pressure came on, she came to the fore. It was a great effort.”
TAB Everest (Group 1)
KA Ying Rising, the world’s highest rated sprinter, has won the world’s richest race.
The race favourite, at even-money in the $A20 million Everest, was heralded over the line by race-caller Darran Flindell with; “Champions do what others can’t.”
Smoothly away from barrier seven in the 12-horse slot race over 1,200 metres, Zac Purton settled in third off the pace being set by Mazu and Overpass.
Bjorn Baker’s enigmatic sprinter Overpass went for home on the bend but Purton was just stoking up the favourite. Pinging to the front with 100 metres remaining, the Hong Kong superstar ran away with the race to the delight of the record 50,167 crowd winning by a length and half.
Home impressively for second was the Street Boss filly Tempted as the Per Incanto gelding Jimmysstar finished third.
Job done
“He is a champion, and he got the job done,” said trainer David Hayes of the winner of his past 14 starts. “There is always a bit of pressure saddling up a champion as you don’t want them to let everyone down and he certainly didn’t do that.
“Zac Purton just rode the perfect race. He put him in the right spot, and he won and I thought on the line it was pretty soft. It’s certainly the biggest thrill in my life.
“It’s been the longest 10 days in my life, I think. Better Loosen Up was the last world champion-rated horse I’ve trained and this is the next one. A lot of good horses in between but these are the two stars.”
Ka Ying Rising will return to Hong Kong to be prepared for the International Sprint on December 14th, but the positive effect this horse has had will reverberate for some time. It’s estimated almost 60% of the Everest’s record crowd of 50,167 was under 26-years-old, providing a unique backdrop for an international audience of more than 200 countries and territories that reached more than 560 million viewers.
Additionally wagering via the World Pool also set a record of A$16.44 million, surging past the previous mark of $13.10 million set in 2023.
“It’s extremely important to show that Hong Kong is a global city, that we have one of the best horses in the world and that we can help to create a global atmosphere, because the atmosphere today is absolutely astonishing and fascinating,” said Winfried Englebrecht-Bresges, CEO of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
MELBOURNE Cup and Cox Plate favourite Sir Delius has been ruled out for the remainder of the Melbourne spring after failing Racing Victoria’s veterinary protocols.
“Having reviewed the PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan results alongside the CT (Computed Tomography) scan results, the panel members have advised RV Veterinary Services that they remain of the view that Sir Delius is currently at heightened risk of injury,” a Racing Victoria press release stated. A Group 1 winner of his past two starts had his scans assessed by diagnostic imaging specialists from Australia, UK and USA.
“We’re still in that stage of assessing that information and what it means to his campaign, this preparation and future ones and what are the options surrounding that,” said Adrian Bott who trains Sir Delius in partnership with Gai Waterhouse. “Outwardly he seems in great shape. We will process all of that as information comes to hand.”
Sir Delius could race in Sydney as the ban only applies to Victoria, but Gai Waterhouse confirmed mid-week that Sir Delius will now be rested and target the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2026. In other Cup news, it was revealed that Mark Zahra will replace Dylan Browne on Al Riffa in the big race in nine days time.