Nick Hall wins Caulfield Cup to finally fill family cabinet

GREG Hall won virtually every big race in the land when he was one of Australia's best jockeys, but never the Caulfield Cup. That has now been rectified.

GREG Hall won virtually every big race in the land when he was one of Australia's best and most colourful jockeys a couple of decades ago, but never the Caulfield Cup.

That has now been rectified.

His son Nick completed the family set when he won on the 11-1 shot Fawkner, reducing his famously knockabout old man almost to tears.

“It’s unbelievable - he’s my first son, my one and only son,” Hall Sr said, practically bursting with pride.

Young Nick’s godfather was pretty pleased, too. That’s leviathan owner Lloyd Williams, who has also won pretty much everything worth winning - including four Melbourne Cups - without ever getting closer than a couple of seconds in this one.

CAULFIELD CUP: The perfect birthday present

Back in the day, Greg Hall not only rode for Williams regularly but the two families became close with the massively wealthy property developer taking the young Nicholas under his wing.

Williams, who is in his 70s, was not at Caulfield. He never goes to the races, preferring to watch on TV from his property in northern Victoria, the centre of one of Australia’s biggest racing operations.

His son, also Nick, tried to ring him from the mounting yard but got no answer.

“He might have fallen asleep,” he joked.

Williams could have had four runners but withdrew the other three and staked everything on a six-year-old gelding he almost sold a year ago - and his favourite jockey.

That combination won by a length and a quarter from English import Dandino and Sydney mare Dear Demi.

Nick Hall, now 26, didn’t show much interest in following his famous father until he was 17, but is now firmly established as a senior rider.

Fawkner wins Caulfield Cup

This, he said, was “a good day, a very good day” - and that’s probably understating it judging by the gleeful return to scale, where Greg burst into the winner’s stall to hug him.

“I texted him last night, I said, ‘mate, love you buddy, you can do this, and then we’ve got the full set. Just win the Caulfield Cup and you can have mine. Dad never won one’,” Greg said.

“They all say to me at sportsman’s dos and in marquees, ‘Greg, you won the Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne Cups, you never won a Caulfield Cup.’

“It’s such a beautiful place to me, I won three Blue Diamonds here, but I say, ‘I wasn’t interested in suburbs.’ I left that for Nick.

“The whole thing with the Williams family - we go back a long time. Lloyd’s like my second father and Nick’s his godson.”

In glorious spring weather, 33,056 racegoers enjoyed a long day out with the Cup not run until 5.45pm.

Caulfield Cup

They were in a good mood by then with a remarkable six favourites having saluted.