Recap: Melbourne Cup Day

FOOTY STARS KILL QINELLA’S DIVIDENDS

Victorian football fans had to settle for underdogs when they won the quinella in the eighth race at Flemington.

As we know, the Rosemont team and their stallion union like to name their horses after former football players.

And so it happened that (Vin) Catogio and (Peter) Bosustow lined up in the same race on Tuesday. Sounds like a betting omen, doesn’t it?

Incredibly, Catoggio won by paying $41, while Bosustow paid $4.60 for the spot. There have been significant dividends from the quinella, right? Wrong.

Surprisingly, they only paid $38.10 for quinella in Victoria. Where else? $185 on NSW tab and $114 on Ubet.

CUP OF DIFFERENT VARIETY WILLIAMS STAR

Managing owner Nick Williams said he’s not sure Newfoundland will ever live up to his breeding, but he expects the horse to have some impact in racing in 2025.

Deep Impact’s Newfoundland was eliminated from the Best In The World list, making him a full brother to three-time Oaks champion Snowfall, and while he doesn’t quite showcase her abilities, Williams said those familiar are pleased with the way he has fared in the campaign, in which he won two capped 2400m races in Sydney.

“It was a good run today and he is a horse that could go to the Adelaide Cup next year,” Williams said. “I’m not sure he’ll be a Melbourne Cup winner, but Jamie (Ca) said she thinks there’s more to come in the next prep, so we’ll see where he ends up.”

Williams said Point King, who was withdrawn from the Melbourne Cup a few weeks ago, was in good health and expected to compete in autumn racing next year.

FAMILY CONNECTION IN VICTORY ADDRESS

Liam Hawley and James McDonald teamed up to take the list victory on Melbourne Cup Day when the opening speech held off his rivals by over 1800m.

The son of So You Think was gallant to beat Derby runner Red Aces in the Moonee Valley Vase in his previous start but did even better on Tuesday after sharing a soft speed.

MacDonald had to stay on his steed throughout the house, but even with Statuario ($7) and Cecchetti ($17) closing strongly from the field, the opener ($4.50) never looked in much danger.

There was also a family connection to the win: McDonald’s mother Dianna raised longtime Hawley flagship Virtuous Circle, and the club also has friends in the Opening Address ownership group.

“It was a nice phone call to find out … he (Opening Speech) was either going to go to the Derby or this race and we could run him in this race if he started here,” MacDonald said.

“Obviously we have good connections with the Chic family and I grew up next door so it’s nice to have a winner on such a big day.

“He’s just scratching the surface…he’s just got raw ability and what he’s doing now is just a bonus because as a four-year-old he’s going to prove himself.”

McDONALD SIGHTS OWN RECORD

James McDonald found himself in a great position to challenge his own record of 10 winners during Melbourne Cup Week when he completed an early Cup Day double by winning the opening speech and then Subzero at Cloudland.

After winning the 1400m Grays, McDonald took his tally to five wins at the 12-race carnival. He set his record of 10 winners in 2021 and also won eight in 2022.

McDonald said he was concerned on the way to the start because he said Cloudlands was gaining momentum.

“He tried to dissuade me from starting, which I was not too happy about, especially on the second day of the carnival. I didn’t want to go to the site so early. But yeah, I stayed,” McDonald said.

Cloudlands is owned by Terry Henderson’s OTI Racing syndicate, whose Athabascan runner was pulled out of the Melbourne Cup by RV Stewards on Monday.

Stewards said that during a mandatory pre-race veterinary examination they discovered Athabaskan had suffered a cardiac arrhythmia. Henderson will meet with stewards on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation.

CLOSE SHINES BRINGS VICTORY IN MELHAM CUP WEEK

Ben Melham is on the Melbourne Cup Carnival board thanks to Team Friedman’s decision to forgo Oaks Day and compete for the Schweppervescent Plate with Manolo Bling on Tuesday.

Instead, Grant’s daughter took on the boys in a straight line and was ahead of Hedonist and Overfull.

It was the second Carnival Cup victory for Anthony and Sam Freedman, last year’s Melbourne Cup-winning trainers, who trained Isthmus to victory on Derby Day while Melham made his third trip to the Carnival with a ride at Rosehill on Saturday.

“She raced well in the straight, she had tested well in the straight before,” Friedman said of the decision to race Tuesday.

“We probably felt she wouldn’t be able to match the Roses on Oaks Day and the 1000m would be more her thing.”

Manolo Bling is raced by the Cummings family silks but is part-owned by Yulong, who sold the filly for $340,000.

THE CONNECTION SWITCH DOES THE WHOLE THING

Philip Stokes’ decision to knock Arran Bay out of the John Letts Cup at Morphettville and conquer the Furphy Plate on the big stage paid off as he claimed his ninth career victory on Tuesday.

Aaran Bay and Luke Nolen held off Unspoken and Apulia in a tense finish for which Pakenham-based Stokes paid tribute to his ownership group.

“I had him at Morphettville today and he had a $2 chance and I said, ‘Let’s go to Morphettville,’ so I have to give credit to Alan Jackson because he said let’s run it here.

“He lost a few races early in his career, but I think he has found his sweet spot: starting early in the 1800m, he is always strong.”

The win was the trainer and jockey’s first at the Melbourne Cup Carnival, where Stokes was set to ride Femminile at Crown Oaks on Thursday.