Maybe Cup win was fate, but Gold Trip could have won 2021 Cox Plate, says Maher

Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip could have won last year’s Cox Plate, if not for a decision by Racing Victoria vets to scratch the horse just days out from the race won by State Of Rest.

That’s according to co-trainer Ciaron Maher, who was nursing a hangover on Wednesday following a night of Cup celebrations after his former French galloper claimed Tuesday’s Cup.

Ciaron Maher and David Eustace pose with Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip.Credit: Getty Images

Gold Trip, owned by syndicator Australian Bloodstock, arrived in Melbourne on AFL grand final day last year and was aimed at the Cox Plate, and even galloped at Moonee Valley a week out from the race to the satisfaction of jockey Damien Oliver.

He made the field, but was inspected on the Thursday before the Cox Plate and found to be lame, and vets scratched him the next day after again finding him to be lame, despite Maher and co-trainer David Eustace adamant the horse was fit to run.

Now that Gold Trip has won a Melbourne Cup, Maher said he would consider it a blessing in disguise, even if the Cox Plate scratching still pains him.

“I was pretty flat when he was scratched from the Cox Plate,” Maher said.

“I thought he was pretty right to go. His work partner was State Of Rest and to watch him go on and win the race, I was pretty flat.

“Maybe it was meant to be or whatever, to win a Melbourne Cup. I was feeling a lot for the connections. He was a high-ticket horse and at one stage it was looking like he was not going to be able to race in Victoria.

“They have a process and protocols and all that, but [Tuesday’s win] was a really fulfilling moment for all of the clients. A lot of them have owned racehorses before, but you could really see what it meant to them winning the Melbourne Cup.”

Maher said there was “nothing better than celebratory beverages” after he posed for photos with Gold Trip, Eustace and the Melbourne Cup. Asked whether his stable could still do more damage with two days left in the Flemington carnival, he quipped: “Hopefully, we can do plenty of damage; hopefully most of it on the racetrack.”

Gold Trip, with jockey Mark Zahra, wins the Melbourne Cup.Credit: Justin McManus

Gold Trip was likely to spell now, with eyes turning towards Sydney’s rich autumn carnival where the import is likely to again be favoured by wet tracks. Races like the Tancred and Queen Elizabeth Stakes look right up his alley, and Maher said there’s no reason why the horse couldn’t try and defend his Melbourne Cup title next year.

“For a stallion, he’s a very cruisy horse, and he’s not a heavy horse for a horse of his age,” he said.

“He’s got a good strong neck on him, but the rest of him is just an athletic size. There’s no reason why he couldn’t train on.”

As for what’s left to achieve after Maher completed Melbourne’s spring trilogy of majors, having won a Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup previously, the ambitious trainer said he wasn’t yet fulfilled.

“I haven’t won a Blue Diamond or a Golden Slipper, so they’ll be pretty high on the agenda,” he said.

“There’s plenty of races we haven’t won, and nothing like winning them again either. We’ll just regroup and try and do it again.”