Geelong Cup winner Emissary has all but assured himself of a Melbourne Cup berth after his dominant display on Wednesday in knocking off well-backed favourite Surefire by a length.
More than two-and-a-half lengths separated third, with the likes of third-placed Makram (37th in order of entry), fourth-placed Rodrigo Diaz (32nd) and sixth-placed Interpretation (33rd) now likely to set their sights on the exempt Hotham Handicap on Derby day to guarantee their spot in the Melbourne Cup.
Emissary was 31st in the order of entry following Durston’s Caulfield Cup victory last Saturday, and a 2kg penalty from Racing Victoria’s handicapper on Thursday will make sure the lightly-raced son of Kingman lines up at Flemington.
Emissary, with Blake Shinn aboard, goes past the winning post.Credit:Racing Photos / Getty Images
He was given a peach of a ride by Blake Shinn, who has struck a hot patch of form since moving back to Australia following a long stint in Hong Kong.
Trainer Mike Moroney, who also won this race in 2017 with Vengeur Masque, said the stable was left scratching its head after Emissary’s modest eighth in the Herbert Power last start.
“We were disappointed with his last run, but we put it down to the [soft] ground mainly. We were wondering whether he stays, but after that today he certainly does,” Moroney said.
“He’s a lovely horse, and from last spring on we really thought we had ourselves a really good stayer, and hopefully, he goes on with it.
“It was a fork in the road for him today. We wanted him on top of the ground at a mile-and-a-half before we worked out what we were going to do, and we’d love to press onto the Melbourne Cup now all going well.”
Moroney said there were some similarities between Emissary and his 2000 Cup winner Brew.
“He does remind me a bit of Brew, but that was 22 years ago now – time flies when you’re having fun,” he said.
“It would certainly be great to win a race like that again.”
Shinn, who is already committed to ride Vow And Declare in the Melbourne Cup, said there was a lot to like about Emissary’s performance.
“It’s such a time-honoured race and to come here and win my first, it’s fantastic,” he said.
“It was a big win. He’s showed glimpses of high promise, and it’s nice to get him to produce a PB today. He settled really nice and that was the main objective, to get him to run the 2400.
“As we saw in his first-up run, he had a great turn of foot over 1700, I think it was, so if we could replicate that turn of foot over this distance we were in business.
“He got a nice drag into the race from Damien Oliver’s horse [Rodrigo Diaz], and he chimed in at the 300 like he hadn’t been in the race.”
Shinn said the race was run fast early, led by Jye McNeil on the Danny O’Brien-trained Midnight Blue. But that speed allowed Emissary to settle.
Midnight Blue wasn’t beaten far in seventh, while Interpretation could manage just a sixth-placed finish after sneaking up the inside. While Midnight Blue, who was 28th in the Melbourne Cup order of entry after the Caulfield Cup, is a good chance of getting into the field without another run, Intepretation is likely to need a win in the Hotham Handicap to give the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace team another runner.
Surefire, who lost no respect running second, is not in the Melbourne Cup picture.
Son of Pierro steps up at Geelong to earn VRC Derby berth
Grand Syndicates have one mighty Derby contender after their three-year-old Grand Pierro stormed into calculations with a win in Wednesday’s Geelong Classic.
The $50,000 Inglis Premier purchase had won just one race from five starts heading into the $120,000 listed race, but he thrived up to 2200 metres on a firm deck at Geelong, and trainer Jason Warren said he warranted a start in Saturday week’s Victoria Derby.
“It looks that way, he’s a genuine stayer this guy, and we’ve just been looking for dry tracks and a race over the right distance for him, and he found it today,” Warren said.
Grand Pierro ridden by Craig Williams (far left) soars to victory.Credit:Racing Photos / Getty Images
“We came here with quite a lot of confidence. I was surprised to see him so short in the market, but it was justified, and he’s run up to it. A really pleasing result to get another win for Grand Syndicates.”
The gelding found himself in a pack of horses throughout the run, but jockey Craig Williams – still on cloud nine after his win in the Everest – took the right gaps and ran over the top of race favourite Let’srollthedice in the last couple of strides.
“I was a little bit worried mid-race, he was all bottled up with nowhere to go, but Craig was picking through small gaps and that’s what you’ve got to do with young horses over these trips,” Warren said.
“He just pinched a bit of room here or there and made a little bit of ground here or there. I was very confident he would run out the trip, and he was strong on the line, so we can go to what looks to be a better race for a bit more money.”
While Warren said Grand Pierro has been a tricky horse to deal with, the son of Pierro always looked like a stayer in the making.
“He’s got a few tricks up his sleeve when he heads out to the track, he doesn’t do everything right, but what he does have is a stayer’s engine. He never really blows, he always pulls up clean in the wind, and we’ve always had him marked as a Derby hopeful,” he said.
Williams quipped he had no real strategy from barrier 14.
“When I came into the yard, having the second outside barrier draw, Jason Warren and Grand Syndicates, I asked them, ‘what do you want to do?’ and they said, ‘we’ll leave it up to you’. I said, ‘that’s not very nice of ya’,” he laughed.
“My job was to try and get him out of the gates fast – I buggered that one up – but it was nice to ride him midfield and see what this horse has to offer. He’s actually good little change up speed, and he’s still learning his trade, but today will give him a real good confidence boost as well, I think.”
Williams said there was no reason why Grand Pierro didn’t deserve a Derby berth.
“It’s steeped in our history, but it’s not very easy to get three-year-olds that mature out to this distance,” he said.
“We’ve kept it due to history and tradition, but you do need the right horse every year. If this horse has a good next 10 days, and they go that far with him this preparation … it will be great. I loved the way he closed off, and confidence is an amazing thing for these horses.”
