Emergency Durston swoops to Caulfield Cup triumph
Article from The Age by Michael Manley and Peter Ryan
Chris Waller referred to racing’s highs and lows as he bounced back from the disappointment of Nature Strip’s defeat in The Everest with victory in the $5 million group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) with Durston an hour later.
In winning Durston earned a special spot in Caulfield Cup history as he became the first emergency to have won in the 146 editions of the event.
Waller was on track at Randwick to watch stable star and the world’s highest rated sprinter Nature Strip finish fourth as a $1.80 favourite in The Everest.
The win in Victoria, however, gave Waller his second Caulfield Cup win and his second in three years as he was successful in 2020 with Verry Elleegant.
“Nature Strip was great only minutes ago but we were deflated but, wow, what an amazing win in the Caulfield Cup. It’s a big deal,” Waller said.
“Durston, he’s a really decent horse. He looked like he needed a bit of luck getting out and he did get out so a great ride from Michael.”
Waller said Durston also identified himself as a strong Melbourne Cup prospect with the way he finished strongly over the last 50 metres.
Durston ($16) defeated Gold Trip ($16) by a short neck with front-runner Knights Order ($16) fighting on strongly for third three quarters of a length away.
Pointsbet firmed Durston into a $13 chance for the Melbourne Cup.
Waller’s Melbourne stable foreman Jo Taylor said it had been a tense wait during the week to see whether there would be a scratching in the Caulfield Cup which would gain Durston a start. They finally received their good news when Maximal was rubbed out on Saturday morning.
“We suspected that Maximal would come out but if the track had improved too much maybe he wouldn’t,” Taylor said.
She said once he was in they hoped that the Caulfield track would continue to improve and it did as Racing Victoria stewards upgraded the track from a heavy 8 to a soft 6 during the afternoon.
“He’s been in such a rich vein of form so to see him get this and for all the owners that have stuck with him for so long, and just a fantastic result for everyone,” Taylor said.
Durston won the Wyong Cup and then the Newcastle Cup before he failed to handle the going in the Metropolitan Handicap on a heavy track.
Former New Zealand jockey Michael Dee captured his first Caulfield Cup and he also said it was unbelievable.
Dee rode a winning double as he was successful on Quang Tri in the opening race. Durston was his sixth group 1 win.
Dee said Durston settled well and got into a good rhythm in a race where they went slower than expected in the first part of the race.
Dee incurred the wrath of the Racing Victoria stewards for causing interference to Tralee Rose at the 300 metres mark when he pushed Durston into the clear as he looked to get him to the outside. He was found guilty of careless riding and was suspended for 13 meetings.
Dee’s suspension begins at midnight on Saturday.
The race turned out to be a frustrating one for Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace as they trained the runner-up Gold Trip who looked certain to win before he was grabbed in the shadows of the post.
Add in that their $3.90 favourite Smokin’ Romans was blocked for a run on the turn when going well and finished seventh. Furthermore, they also trained Durston when he first came to Australia from the United Kingdom.
Mark Zahra, who rode Gold Trip, thought he kicked like he was going to win the race but couldn’t hold off a horse with a lighter weight.
Knights Order led and fought on to finish third in an effort which his jockey Tim Clark showed he was spot on for the Melbourne Cup.