‘I held my breath the whole way’: Austy reacts to Harry’s Caulfield Cup triumph

No danger of Harry Coffey getting a big head with the Caulfield Cup winner straight back to work on Sunday, riding four horses at Echuca for his proud father Austy.

No danger of Harry Coffey getting a big head with the Caulfield Cup winner straight back to work on Sunday, riding four horses at Echuca for his proud father Austy.

Coffey joined Duke De Sessa after parties on Saturday night with owners and Ciaron Maher staff but travelled to Echuca on Sunday, on the way home to Swan Hill.

“Not a bad effort driving along with the Caulfield Cup in the ute, is it?” Austy Coffey told Racenet on Sunday, ahead of being reunited with son Harry at Echuca.

• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!

“He’ll get brought back down to earth riding mine after being at Caulfield for Ciaron.”

Coffey and wife Maree watched the races from the lounge room at home in Swan Hill “as we do every Saturday”.

Coffey considered catching the train to Melbourne on Saturday morning but as Harry revealed post-race, he was told to stay home and prepare the Echuca runners.

“We had a fair bit of work to do and you probably don’t expect to win anyway, when he won obviously I wished I was there but it doesn’t matter,” Coffey said.

“It was a big moment for us, our biggest moment ever in racing, for sure.

“I held my breath the whole way.”

Great bloke, better rider. Well deserved, good on you HTC 🥊 ⭐️ @HTCoffey@hawkeyemanagem1https://t.co/EgHoukKVTU

— Damian Lane (@LaneDamian) October 19, 2024

• Coffey’s inspiring Cup triumph: ‘I’m not going to bad for half a lung’

Duke De Sessa enjoyed a peach of a ride, rated perfectly behind a steady speed and asked to take over from the 600m.

Runner-up Buckaroo surged late but could not peg back the winner.

“I thought the second horse was going to run him down in the straight but not to be, it was his day,” Coffey said.

“Mother and I were in the lounge room watching the races as we do every Saturday, it was fantastic.

“He scored it a 10/10 (ride) I think he could’ve given it a 12/10 if he wanted to.”

Harry Coffey 🤝🏼. Hats off to you mate. Well deserved. 👏🏼 https://t.co/JSmpP3LWak

— Ethan Brown (@Brown_ethan8) October 19, 2024

• What the jockeys said: 2024 Caulfield Cup

Coffey’s belief in a Caulfield Cup dream strengthened as money flooded in for Duke De Sessa, a quality hard fit stayer proficient on a rain-affected surface.

The Caulfield Cup is jockey Coffey’s third Group 1 success after the Australasian Oaks (2018) and Oakleigh Plate (2024).

“When he rode one I thought that’s something he’s done, he’s ridden a Group 1 winner, now he’s ridden three, it’s just amazing.”

The best thing to happen today was @HTCoffey winning the Caulfield Cup. Take a bow Harry. pic.twitter.com/bBVKwVEOpv

— Grahame Begg Racing (@Grahame_Begg) October 19, 2024

• Ciaron Maher gets the money AND the prestige with Everest-Caulfield Cup double

Coffey’s win has been widely acclaimed and applauded Victorian racing participants including trainers and jockeys.

“He’s an inspiration to everybody Harry, that’s for sure,” Coffey said.

“You don’t get anything without deserving it though, not one thing, he hasn’t had anything given to him without working for it.”

Coffey has ridden more than 1200 winners and defied the odds from six-weeks-old diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an incurable disease managed by medication only.

Originally published as ‘I held my breath the whole way’: Austy reacts to Harry’s Caulfield Cup triumph