Local victory to be proud of

ANTHONY Mithen and Nigel Austin wake up this morning the kings of Geelong.

After watching a prince, a princess and a royal salute in the early races, the pair’s homegrown gelding Runaway reigned supreme in the city’s biggest race, the Geelong Cup.

It was a stunning win, hoop Stephen Baster taking the four-year-old to the front from the outset and leading all the way to the finishing post.

Mithen, stud principal at Rosemont Farm where Runaway was born and reared, shifted nervously on his feet during the race and got vocal as the horse entered the final 200m with a lead of one and a quarter lengths. “C’mon, keep fighting,” he yelled. Moments later, Runaway realised the victory Mithen had dreamt of since his school days and his early years as a cadet reporter covering the Geelong Cup for the Geelong Advertiser.

“It’s just remarkable to win your hometown cup, with a horse we’ve reared locally. It’s the stuff dreams are made of,” he told the Addy as the green winner’s ribbon was stuffed in his hands.

With Rosemont’s Split Lip running second in the next race, Mithen and Austin almost capped a perfect day.

But that agonising loss was soon forgotten when the pair, who are brothers in-law, returned triumphant to the Cotton On marquee with the holy grail of Geelong racing.

Through a volley of backslaps, high-fives and kisses, hugs and cheers, Austin — the mastermind behind Geelong retail giant Cotton On and Rosemont’s chief financial backer — held the shiny Cup aloft.

“I woke up this morning with the outside chance it might happen and just pinched myself. My thinking was that it was just great to have a run-