Six Richmond premiership stars are celebrating a first win for the horse they own shares in – and are already looking 12 months ahead to the Melbourne Cup.
Jack Riewoldt, Liam Baker, Nathan Broad and Jack Graham were looking nervous as Soulcombe, the stayer which was a hot favourite heading into the group 3 2600m Queen’s Cup on Champions Day at Flemington, sat last midway through the race.
But the horse, which is also owned by Tom Lynch and Jayden Short, turned it on at the straight and jockey Craig Williams rode it to victory.
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Baker told The Age: “That’s exactly how they said they would ride it.
“They said he should be good enough down the straight if he got the right run.”
Broad added: “That’s our first winner.”
Asked how it compared to the emotion of the Tigers’ 2017, 2019 and 2020 premiership wins, Broad said: “It’s up there.”
Soulcombe is a British import and the Chris Waller-backed four-year-old is already one of the favourites for next year’s Melbourne Cup, listed as short as $17 and a co-favourite with 2022 winner Gold Trip.
“It is a different style of racing but no better place than Flemington, the bigger tracks, and that will give the horse a lot of confidence,” Waller said.
“It’s all about seeing how he recovers today. Most importantly he knows how to win at Flemington.”
