‘We’re shocked’: Buckaroo owners in awe of race favourite

Bet on Buckaroo! Cup favourite stuns owners with scorching preparation for the race that stops the nation.

Trainer Chris Waller with his four entries in the 2024 Melbourne Cup: Kovalika, Buckaroo, Valiant King and Land Legend. Picture: Bronwen Healy Photography.

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Forget Donald and Kamala, the race that stops our nation is coming and a lot of Australians are voting with their wallets for Buckaroo.

Possessing a rare double act of “brilliance and endurance”, the ­robust six-year-old has shocked his owners by being the $5 favourite – accounting for 9 per cent of all outlays taken by Tabcorp – just days before Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.

Successful property financier and part-owner Brae Sokolski, who took out the Cup with Verry Elleegant in 2021, never thought Buckaroo, priced at $26 when the Cup market opened, would be a contender in the $8m marathon.

“When we bought him we thought he was an elite middle-distance horse, so we were really thinking of targeting those Group One weight-for-age races up to 2000m,” he said.

Trainer Chris Waller with Buckaroo on Friday. Picture: Bronwen Healy Photography

“The horse has surprised us with his endurance and we’re the first to acknowledge that in racing sometimes the horse tells you where they should run, not where you tell them they should run.

“If you would have said to me at the beginning of his preparation that we would have had this horse in a Melbourne Cup, let alone the favourite for a Melbourne Cup, I would have literally thought you were certifiable.

“He’s got that rare combination of brilliance and endurance. He has both the turn of foot to sprint but also proven that he can stay, and those characteristics have become essential to winning the Melbourne Cup.”

The Chris Waller-trained gelding will carry 54.5kg on at Flemington for the 3200m race.

Buckaroo is one of four Waller-trained horses in the race; Valiant King, Land Legend and Kovalica being the others.

“They need to be very fit, they need to be explosive as well … enough speed but at the same time enough mileage into their legs,” Waller said on Friday.

“Buckaroo has got great form, coming out of Caulfield Cup running second.”

Buckaroo, who finished second in last month’s Caulfield Cup, bolted into Melbourne Cup favouritism after Cox Plate-winner Via Sistina withdrew from the event.

“I would certainly have been running scared (of Via Sistina),” Mr Sokolski said.

“You want to race against the best. I’m a racing purest, I want to see the best Melbourne Cup field … but I was also somewhat ­relieved when they decided (to withdraw Via Sistina).”

The Melbourne Cup might be the highlight of the Flemington Carnival, but Saturday is the most glamorous day as celebrities, AFL stars and business powerbrokers flock to the Birdcage marquees.

Mumm, the official champagne of the carnival, leads the way in sponsorships with Olympian Emma McKeon, footballing brothers Nick and Josh Daicos and celebrities such as Nadia ­Bartel.

The Crown Casino marquee will host Bec Judd, while some of the flashiest corporate brands in the nation such as Lexus, Penfolds and, if beer’s more to your taste, then there’s the Furphy marquee.