Geelong Cup: All results from the day of racing
One of Emissary’s owners has been a regular Geelong Cup attendee for 20 years. Now he has a Cup to add to his mantelpiece.
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A regular at the Geelong Cup for the last 20 years, Torquay’s Ray Dando always dreamt of winning his home Cup.
He now has one to showcase on the mantelpiece after Emissary roared down the straight to win the 2022 Geelong Cup on Wednesday.
The six-year-old, trained by Michael Moroney, found itself at the back of the pack as the group came around the final bend of the 2400-metre race, however was in the prime position to take victory on the straight.
Dando said he was “very confident” sitting with fellow owner Rupert Legh as Emissary came around the final bend.
“When I seen him come around the corner, I said to Rupert, ‘He’s flying’,” he said.
“I was very confident around the corner.”
To win his home Cup has been “a dream” of Dando’s after two decades of attending the day.
“Absolutely unbelievable (to win),” he said.
“Been coming for 20 years (to the) Geelong Cup, dream of mine, awesome.”
While automatically eligible to race in the Melbourne Cup thanks to Wednesday’s win, Legh said it was “more unlikely” than likely that Emissary would front up.
“Don’t think so, I think you’ve got to listen to your jockey and the trainer,” he said.
“I’m not saying never, but I’d say it’s more unlikely than we will. I think he’s more of a mile-and-a-half, so maybe the Queen Elizabeth might be perfect for him, good couple of week lead into it.
“It’d be good to have him in there, but we’re being realistic and you’ve got to listen to your trainer, you’ve got to listen to your jockey.
“I know you get one crack at it, but I think it’s unlikely.”
Wednesday’s win was Legh’s second Geelong Cup as an owner, his first coming in 2017 with Vengeur Masque.
He said it was “just as much fun as the first”.
“You’ll never get used to winning big races,” he said.
“I love winning races at Donald or wherever. To win another Geelong Cup is just as much fun as the first one.”
Legh was in stronger physical condition than when he won his first Geelong Cup.
“I was laying on my back (in 2017), I had back surgery,” he said.
“I jumped out of bed and everyone said, ‘You’re a fraud’, because I wasn’t able to get around and suddenly I’ve jumped out of the bed.
“We’ve been here before, we’ve had seconds and third and now we’ve got a second Cup, so it’s great.”
Race 10
Trainer Archie Alexander says there is improvement in Maximus Prime yet as Blake Shinn completed his treble of wins at Geelong.
The six-year-old gelding won convincingly in Geelong’s 10th race of the day, but Alexander said the horse had not peaked yet.
“He looks good but he’s just a touch off in his coat, and natural improvement will be there,” he said.
“He’s come here off a break and a nice run is under the belt, he should be fitter and tighter, ready to go for a bigger one.”
Race 9
Trainer Maddie Raymond said she had written off her horse Turaath at the start of the 1200m race in Geelong after the mare jumped late out of the gates.
“It wasn’t great, I thought ‘this isn’t going to plan at all’,” she said.
“It’s not great that she’s missing the kick I’m sure, she’s relaxing well now which is one good thing.”
Race 8 – Blake Shinn
Jockey Blake Shinn says it is “really special” to win his first-ever Geelong Cup on the back of gelding Emissary on Wednesday.
The six year old from the United Kingdom and trained by Melbourne-based Michael Moroney came from the middle of the 16-horse field to surge home and claim the group three race.
Shinn said it was an honour to claim victory with Emissary.
“Geelong Cup is a time-honoured race, and to come here and win my first is fantastic,” he said.
“It was a big win, he (Emissary) showed a heap of promise and it’s nice to get him to produce it.
“He settled really nice and that was the main objective, to get him to run the 2400m and as we’ve seen in his first-up running he’s got a great turn of foot over 1700m.
“(We knew) if we could reproduce that same turn of foot over this distance we were in business.”
Emissary ultimately edged out Sure Fire to claim victory by about a length for just his second race win of the 2022 calendar.
Shinn said a slow start ultimately helped out throughout the race as other horses tired late.
“The race turned out lovely, we got a nice drag into the race from Damien Oliver’s horse (Rodrigo Diaz), and he just chimed in at the 300m, he was lucky, he hadn’t been in the race so it was great,” he said.
“They went fast early and it just allowed him to get into a nice breathing pattern and spend no gas, and that gave him his opportunity to run the distance out strongly and show his true form.
“The way the race was run was perfect for him and he showed his true class.”
Shinn said it was an impressive showing from Emissary, but the length of the Melbourne Cup might be too difficult to win if he was to race in the sport’s biggest event.
“You’ve got bear in mind the distance might be a question mark,” he said.
“I’ve got no doubt that he can be competitive but it’s just whether he can run that distance.
“If he can reproduce that same turn of foot over 3200m he’s got a bit of force.”
Race 8 – Mike Moroney
Mike Moroney broke into a beaming smile when he reflected on the deeds of his Melbourne Cup-winning gelding Brew.
It was 22 years ago that Brew claimed the race that stops the nation and now Moroney has another chance.
Well, Moroney could have two chances to win the Melbourne Cup after Emissary stormed into calculations with a stirring victory in Wednesday’s Geelong Cup.
Emissary is 31st in the order of entry for the Melbourne Cup, with Moroney’s Kiwi stayer Nerve Not Verve already in the field.
Standing victorious in the Mounting Yard with the Geelong Cup firmly in his grip, Moroney took a moment to ponder what it would be like to claim his first Melbourne Cup since Brew in 2000.
“It would be great,” Moroney said.
“It was a while ago now but I still remember it vividly.
“It was the biggest race I’ve won and you remember every second of it.”
Moroney sees plenty of similarities in Brew and Emissary, who is developing into a fine stayer.
“He’s lightly raced and he’s a bit younger than Brew, but he’s a nice staying horse who will get better with time,” Moroney said.
“He’s got to get the two miles and he’ll need the right draw to do that.
“It’s all very well to get the mile and a half, but it’s an extra half mile it in.
“Next year he might be better, but he deserves a chance and he has a light weight.”
Winning his first Geelong Cup since Vengeur Masque in 2017, Moroney admitted he was pleased to end a run of bad luck.
“I really relieved that something’s gone right this spring,” he said.
“We started, as you do, with five Melbourne Cup chances and you hope you’ve got the right ones and it looks like we’re going to have two now – Nerve Not Verve and Emissary all going well.
“We‘ll see how he comes through it. Last season Glenn Boss rode him and he said we had a great stayer in the making.
“We took him to Sydney but it was too wet for him, but he had a great race behind Cascadian in the weight-for-age at Caulfield and was well out of his class and just failed on a wet ground.
“But now he’s on top of the ground and we’re hoping for a good track.
“The year I won it with Brew I knew I had the right horses and I thought it did this year, too,” he said.
“We’ve had a couple just fall by the wayside, but Nerve Not Nerve was the one that stood out.”
Moroney conceded Emissary faced a “fork in the road” with his Geelong Cup outing, but was pleased to see him prosper.
“Dead right, it was a fork in the road for him,” he said.
“It was a really good win. We were disappointed with his last run but we put that down to the ground mainly.
“We were starting to wonder if he really stayed, but on that (performance) today he certainly does.
“He’s a lovely horse, and from last spring on, we thought we had ourselves a really good stayer and hopefully he goes on with it.”
Now Moroney and his team will await the handicapper’s verdict, but he is confident of having a second runner in the Melbourne Cup.
“Coming from second last and it was one of the better Geelong Cup fields we’ve seen for a long, long time and for that reason I think the handicapper will recognise that and that’s what they normally go on,” he said.
“Just the way he did it, as I said, he came from second last and took all the luck out of the equation and had a clear look at it.”
Race 7
GRAND Pierro trainer Jason Warren is confident he has a Victorian Derby-winning horse at his disposal after a win in the Geelong Classic.
The three-year-old gelding took the lead late in the race and won by a nose over Let’srollthedice and King’s Crossing.
Warren said Grand Pierro had a mentality suited to challenging at the Victorian Derby.
“He’s a genuine stayer this guy, we’ve just been looking for dry tracks and a race over the right distance for him, and he found it today,” he said.
“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 ran up to it.
“He doesn’t do everything right but one thing he’s got is a real stayer’s engine, he never blows, he always pulls up clean in the wind and we’ve always had him marked as a Derby hopeful.”
Legendary jockey Craig Williams rode Grand Pierro to victory, claiming his first win for the day in Geelong.
Warren said he was worried about his gelding’s chances during the race, but Williams’ experience led his horse home.
“I was a little worried mid-race, he was all bottled up with nowhere to go but Craig (Williams) was picking through really small gaps,” he said.
“I guess that’s what you have to do with young horses over these trips and he just pinched a bit of room here and there and a little bit of ground here and there.
“I was very confident he’d run out the trip and he was strong on the lines so we can go to what looks to be a better race for a bit more money.”
The Geelong Classic is seen by many as a final tune-up for the Victorian Derby, with the race at Flemington 300m longer at 2500m in distance.
Williams said
“It was nice to ride him in the field and see what this horse has to offer,” he said.
“He’s actually got good change-up speed and he’s still really learning his trade, and today will give him a real good confidence boost.
“It’s not really easy to get three-year-olds that mature at this distance.
“You do need the right horse every year, and if this horse has a good next 10 days and Jason Warren is happy to go that far with his preparation (he could challenge in the Derby).
“I loved the way he closed off and confidence is an amazing thing for these horses.”
Race 6
Minsk Moment was back to its “winning ways” after streaking clear to win the Dual Choice Plate at Geelong.
The short-priced favourite and Chris Waller-trained colt destroyed all comers in the 1200m race, beating home Field of Roses and Crestani.
Assistant trainer Jo Taylor and the Waller stable would now look to a Group 1 race after Minsk Moment ran back into form.
“I’m sure this will get a bit of confidence back in him, get him going in his winning ways and pick the right race,” Taylor said.
“If we can snag the right Group 1, or even a Stakes race, I’m sure that will be targeted in the near future.”
Taylor said jockey James McDonald rode Minsk Moment beautifully.
“It was nice to see him get out on (his) terms and James managed to get him in a lovely position, giving him quiet time in the mid stages and ensuring he was exposed at the right times to wind up and do his best work late,” she said.
“He was obviously entered on the weekend to race as well, but due to the wet tracks we came here today and we can see how nice and effective he is on these sort of tracks. We were quiet confident.”
Returning to Geelong for the first time since he won the Geelong Cup aboard Almoonqith, McDonald was back on the winner’s list.
“It worked out pretty good. He popped away with them on terms, he’s been a bit slow late, but he’s a pretty nice horse and he executed it well today,” he said.
“He was really strong for the last furlong and he’s been building towards that. The firmer ground has helped him and it’s onwards and upwards.
‘He’s definitely progressive, and now that he’s got a bit of confidence, I’m sure shoot through his grades. I know he’s owned in Perth, so we might see him in some big races over there.”
Race 5
Jockey Ben Melham says his mare Hypothetical is building a good reputation around the tracks after another victory.
Hypothetical battled to claim her third straight victory in race 5 at the Geelong Cup.
“Even though we weren’t going that quick we found a good rhythm … and lost her competitors shortly after straightening,” Melham said.
“She’s building a good record now … got a good galloping action.”
Race 4
Some “intent” from jockey Ben Melham helped steer Lafargue to a dominant race 4 victory at the Geelong Cup.
Trainer Danny O’Brien said the four-year-old “travelled like a winner”.
“He’s a talented enough horse, Ben really showed some intent on him today, I think that was the secret, he was up and out of the gate … and travelled like a winner the whole race,” he said.
“He won his maiden by about six or seven lengths too, competed in a couple of decent three-year-old races, so the talent’s been there, he’s just had to put it all together, good to see him do it today.”
Race 3
Cuban State has held on in dramatic fashion to take out race 3 at the Geelong Cup.
It was a tight run for the post, with Ima Shelby and Wuddzz fighting for the lead, but the five-year-old snatched a late victory.
Trainer Tony McEvoy said Cuban State “deserved” the win.
“He looked to get to the front … he really dug in,” he said.
“He’s got a pedigree to run in the Melbourne Cup this horse, he’s got a real stayer’s pedigree.
“He ran that out strong today and wanted the post.”
Race 2
French Emperor backed up its Mornington win in September with a victory in race 2 of the Geelong Cup despite being “worked up”.
Jockey Jamie Kah said post-race the four-year-old “did too much early”, however finished strong.
“Today he was quite different than Mornington, he was really worked up, I think just with the crowd and the heat today,” she said.
“Did a little too much early (but) I was pretty impressed to see him be so strong through the line.”
Race 1
New Zealand horse Captain Envious has taken out the first race of the day at the Geelong Cup, holding out to win by a length over Kapalua Sunset and Outback Jack.
Jockey Dean Yendall said the four-year-old gelding got excited as they hit the straight of the 2400m race.
“He got a bit keen at the 1000 to 1200-metre mark, he snuck up a little bit,” he said.
“(I) just had to play with him a little bit to get him to relax again.”
Originally published as Geelong Cup: All results from the day of racing
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