| A locally bred and sold galloper has reigned supreme on Australian racing’s biggest stage sweeping the $8.56 million Group One Melbourne Cup (3200m) in a gripping home straight burst. |
| Sent out a $91 outsider with bookmakers despite an unlucky last start fifth in the Bendigo Cup, Knight’s Choice lived up to his connections’ hopes with a brilliant come from behind win. Knight’s Choice, a son of Newgate Farm’s sire sensation Extreme Choice, was an $85,000 buy for connections from the draft of breeder Elswick Park at the 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale when offered during Book 2. Co-trainer John Symons said the key to success in Australia’s most famous race was the good track conditions presented on a lovely sunny afternoon. “Well, the lead-ups were all skewiff because he’s a duffer. He went to Kilcoy in a maiden and got beat on a wet track, and running him in those Group One races against the best horses in the country on wet tracks, he was going to run like he did.” “But if we didn’t run, we wouldn’t get a run in the Melbourne Cup, so we had to go around. We had to chance our hand that we were going to get into the Cup because we were a fair way down to start with.” A key to success was being able to base the Queensland trained star at Macedon Lodge, a renowned property well known to Symons and Sheila Laxon. “What can I say? Sheila came and asked if we could be at Macedon Lodge. We’ve got to thank Mark Player and I haven’t met the owner, but thanks to Bruce for letting us stay there.” “Everyone knows the success going back twenty odd years that we had from there. Blue Diamonds, Thousand Guineas, Caulfield, Melbourne Cups. We just love the place out there and we know how to use it.” Connections stuck strong with former Irish, turned Australian singing jockey sensation Robbie Dolan despite his recent luckless run. “Absolutely. Look, they all ride a bad race. It wasn’t his fault at Bendigo the other day. I thought he was a good thing beat at Bendigo the other day when he ran fifth and everyone was tipping the winner and I thought, well, if he’s the winner, we can beat him. So, it’s all history now. We’ve won the Melbourne Cup.” “What a great ride by Robbie, you know he stayed in, he took the risk, went through the pack; I was worried he got further back than we talked about, but great ride, what a thrill, what a thrill.” “We’ve had a pretty tough fifteen years, but to come back and keep going, and to be able to come back at our age, and we’ve got a team of 28 horses. I bought that horse at the Magic Millions for $85,000, and we’ve just upstaged a world full of money.” “Sheila’s a superstar. She’s been around the world. Romanee Conti, Ethereal’s mother, that won the Hong Kong Cup. We’ve gelled from day one, we were both at Macedon Lodge, she came and stayed there with Ethereal, that’s where we met.” “To be able to do this is a dream come true. We thought it would probably slip through our fingers, but to be able to come back and do this, it’s just fantastic.” “You work with these horses 24/7 and you know where you’ve got them. You’d be disappointed if he didn’t run a good race. To run top 5 in a race like this, you’ve got to walk away happy. To win it, it’s a dream come true.” Laxon, who saddled up Ethereal to win the 2001 Melbourne Cup, is now two from two in the famous two miler. “It was just an awesome and amazing ride by Robbie,” Laxon said. “We didn’t give him instructions, he just knew what to do.” “Obviously, when you win something like this, it takes a while to register. John is over the moon and the owners are just so thrilled. It’s great to be part of it.” “Of course it does (feel amazing). And do you know what’s great? I love it being done for the Australians. The Australian horse has done it and Robbie’s Australian now as well. So I’m thrilled to win the Cup. It’s the people’s cup and that’s what it’s all about.” “The magic of Macedon. It is an incredible place and I’m so glad that we’ve done this and been there and trained out of there. So fantastic.” Robbie Dolan, the former Irish based hoop who is best known to Aussies through his singing exploits on The Voice, couldn’t believe he’d just snared one of the world’s biggest races. “Well, pinch me,” Dolan said. “I think I’m dreaming.” “It’s incredible. I just can’t believe it. I don’t even know what to say.” “I can’t even put it into words. This is the biggest race in the world, and to win it is just incredible. I’ve got my family here, my partner, Christine, our little baby, Maisie. My dad flew over from Ireland, and now you’ve got me in tears.” “I watched every Melbourne Cup over the last 40 years the other night. I just thought my best chance is if I get him to stay the trip and hopefully he can rattle home and quicken up, good sectionals that he can do on a good track, and he just proved everybody wrong.” “I’ve never ridden this race before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I feel like I’ve ridden it ten times because I’ve run the race over in my head before I got here. It panned out exactly as I thought it would.” “I thought I’d be a pair closer, but they went quick. I just rode him for luck because I know he’s got a good turn of foot. What a training performance.” “There wasn’t enough room for me to come outside. So I decided to cut the corner. I heard Kerrin (McEvoy) giving me a call along the inside. I initially would have went for the run that he went for.” “He was going a little bit better than me. Once my horse spotted the gap and he sort of changed legs, and he picked up on me. Once I pulled the stick through, he found another gear again.” “He’s only a small little horse, but he gives his all every start, and that’s half the battle with him, I think and he’s proved a lot of people wrong.” “You can’t do it without the trainers like Sheila and John. They were so confident in this horse even before he got to this race and a lot of people doubted them. To be honest, I didn’t.” “I really liked his run the other day at Bendigo. He hit the line really well and was unlucky not to be placed,” Dolan added. The fourth Group One winner for Blue Diamond and Moir Stakes winner Extreme Choice, Knight’s Choice was bred and subsequently sold at the Gold Coast by Norm Bazeley’s Elswick Park. He is the sole winner to date for his dam, the seven time winning More Than Ready mare Midnight Pearl – a half sister to Flemington stakes performer Sea Spray. Knight’s Choice was one of five winners and three stakes winners on the Flemington card for runners sold by Magic Millions. Earlier, the exciting juvenile Tycoon Star (Written Tycoon) led home a Magic Millions and Lindsay Park trained clean sweep in the Group Three Maribyrnong Plate. Tycoon Star, who was sold by Milburn Creek at the National Weanling Sale, was a $400,000 Gold Coast Yearling Sale buy in January for Lindsay Park from the Yulong draft. Catoggio, another by super sire Written Tycoon, led home a Rosemont Stud owned quinella in the Listed Amanda Elliott Handicap. Prepared by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Catoggio was a $460,000 buy for the Rosemont Alliance and Suman Hedge at the 2023 Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Winner: Knight’s Choice Breeding: Extreme Choice-Midnight Pearl (More Than Ready) Race: VRC Melbourne Cup G1 (3200m) Sold for: $85,000 Sale: 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Book 2 Earnings: $5,842,400 Breeder: Elswick Park Vendor: Elswick Park Buyer: Michael Kirby/John Symons Owners: Mr CA Bain, Mrs KJ Waldron & Mr RA Waldron Trainers: John Symons & Sheila Laxon (Sunshine Coast) |
