‘That’s the next Media Puzzle’: Will Geelong Cup winner capture the 2024 Melbourne Cup?

The declaration was delivered in a South Melbourne pub just seconds after Onesmoothoperator had crossed the line first in the Geelong Cup on October 23.

“That’s the next Media Puzzle.”

The declaration was delivered in a South Melbourne pub just seconds after Onesmoothoperator had crossed the line first in the Geelong Cup on October 23.

There was a nod of the head from the co-punter who understood the enormity of the declaration and the expertise associated with it given he was also a member of the Geelong Cup gang who for over a decade would gather for a day out in G-Town for its biggest race day.

While work commitments have got in the way in recent times, the bond formed between punters and horses at Geelong lives on forever.

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The time-honoured sprint race, the Dual Choice Plate, is a favourite given the day the Jamie Edwards-trained Air Cooled delivered a quaddie which had $100 bills being divided up among the group in the Eureka Hotel marquee like confetti.

That was the same year one of Australia’s leading Olympians managed to get himself wedged in the luggage area above the seats on the way home from the track in the bus.

Then there was the 3am cricket match in a hotel car park where a prolific left-arm finger spinner at subdistrict level bowled what has been described as the ball of the century against a district star, with it being talked about as much as the Warne-Gatting ball.

We digress, but you get the picture. A lot of weird and wonderful things happen at the Geelong Cup which translate to goodness at the Melbourne Cup.

Media Puzzle won with a leg in the air for Damien Oliver at Geelong in 2002 and then 13 days later saluted again in one of the more emotional victories in the great race’s history.

Happy Geelong Cup Day! 🏆

Media Puzzle won the Geelong Cup before winning the Melbourne Cup in 2002! 💛 pic.twitter.com/iwnoPbV8vQ

— Racing.com (@Racing) October 24, 2023

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Those who witnessed the Dermot Weld-trained star break the course record in Geelong that day were left with no doubt who they’d be backing on the first Tuesday in November.

There were similar vibes as we watched Craig Williams take over at the top of the straight on Onesmoothoperator and race away this year. An English stayer with a turn-of-foot who has clearly adapted to life in Australia is the formula.

Plenty of more highly-rated raiders have come out but they’ve been grinders or plodders who thrive in the marathon 3000m-plus races in Europe, but the key to winning a Melbourne Cup is to have a stayer who can sprint.

Onesmootheroperator’s trainer Brian Ellison can’t believe his charge has gone from 100-1 to pushing for favouritism in the Melbourne Cup, but this is what the magic of Geelong can do.

That's Onesmoothoperator 😎

The import makes a mess of them in the 2024 Geelong Cup 🏆 @[e-mail]/OtrkUC6ka9

— Racing.com (@Racing) October 23, 2024

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Two other Geelong Cup winners have gone on to win at Flemington – Americain in 2010 and Dunaden in 2011 – while there have been plenty of others who have run well. This brings us to our roughie for the Cup.

Interpretation ran on hard to finish second behind Onesmoothoperator and he ticks a lot of boxes. The seven-year-old gelding is trained by Ciaron Maher, who wins staying races for fun, and this will be the horse’s third appearance in the Cup.

Two years ago he was a long-range tip at decent odds but was pulled up before the finish with an issue. Last year he won the Bendigo Cup in the lead-up and then placed a creditable sixth in the Cup at $50.

His previous five starts this year had been ordinary before the second-placing at Geelong which put him back on the radar and saw his price slashed to $13.

So taking the Geelong Cup quinella in the Melbourne Cup sounds like a good plan, as does another bus trip back to the Eureka for the celebrations.

Originally published as ‘That’s the next Media Puzzle’: Will Geelong Cup winner capture the 2024 Melbourne Cup?