Mornington trainers Pat Carey and Harris Walker with surprise crack at The Meteorite at Cranbourne

Mornington trainers Pat Carey and Harris Walker didn’t have a spot in the The Meteorite when they entered Who Dares but soon landed a slot in the first running of the $1m event at Cranbourne.

Who Dares and jockey Patrick Moloney will again combine in the first running of The Meteorite at Cranbourne. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

The old phrase “you’ve got to be in it to win it” has rarely been more apt than in Saturday’s first edition of The Meteorite at Cranbourne.

Mornington trainers Pat Carey and Harris Walker decided to enter honest sprinter Who Dares in the $1m feature despite not having secured a deal with a slot-holder.

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However, the pair’s gamble paid off as the Melbourne Racing Club and Sportsbet decided to partner with the Mornington-trained sprinter.

“It was a bit of a surprise,” Walker said.

“It wasn’t really the original plan but we threw in a little cheeky nomination and they came for us, the slot-holders.

“The MRC saw we were interested, and training at Mornington, it probably made sense for all parties to combine.

“It’s great to have a spot in the inaugural running of The Meteorite.”

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Race sponsor Ladbrokes rated Who Dares as a $46 chance in early betting on The Meteorite.

However, Harris said the consistent galloper has always performed when set tough tasks such as rolling the likes of favourites Baraqiel, Arkansaw Kid and Nadal.

Who Dares will represent the Melbourne Racing Club and Sportsbet in The Meteorite at Cranbourne. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

Who Dares broke through for his first stakes win at Flemington in May and has been competitive in strong races throughout the year.

“Every bar we raise to him, he clears it and if he’s not winning, he’s running into a horse that usually goes onto bigger and better things,” Walker said.

“We’ve sort of got an unfortunate relationship with some good quality horses, namely the likes of Jimmysstar and Arkansaw Kid, who he’s going to meet again in The Meteorite.

“I guess when you go to that level, you’re always going to run into that type of horse and it comes down to who gets the best run of the race.”

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Interestingly, Who Dares has maintained his performance level despite the now five-year-old running at least once in every month bar one since October last year.

Walker said he and Carey maintain a light routine with Who Dares, which has allowed the son of Deep Field to finish in the first four in 11 of his last 13 runs.

“He’s a horse that has been consistently in work but we don’t do too much with him between runs,” Walker said.

“He has a few little maintenance gallops here and there so he’s such an easy and relatively sound horse that he can just continue racing.

“He’s better suited by going to the races consistently. It keeps the edge off him a little bit and makes him a pleasure to train.”

Regular rider Patrick Moloney, who has ridden the gelding in his last eight starts will stick with Who Dares in The Meteorite.

Originally published as Mornington trainers Pat Carey and Harris Walker with surprise crack at The Meteorite at Cranbourne