RUNAWAY SUCCESS FOR THE AUSSIES
GAI Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have repelled the international raiders, contriving a memorable Geelong Cup quinella yesterday as the Melbourne Cup aspirations of Withhold crumbled.
The Waterhouse-Bott training partnership led in locally owned Runaway ($16) and Northwest Passage ($9.50) with Chris Waller’s import Finche ($4.80) third.
The disappointment of the race was Withhold, who bled from both nostrils and is now banned from racing for three months.
Trainer Roger Charlton’s powerful stayer also pulled up lame in a foreleg in a miserable debut for the British camp.
Sent out a $3.20 favourite, Withhold faded from second in the run to finish eighth.
Runaway sits at No.49 in the Melbourne Cup order of entry and will need a significant penalty from Racing Victoria’s Greg Carpenter to climb into the 24-horse field.
With only 50.5kg, Runaway would probably need to win the Hotham Handicap on VRC Derby day to gatecrash the Cup.
Jockey Stephen Baster delivered a sublime frontrunning effort.
Waterhouse said: “They had no chance of running him down, he had no intention of stopping and he won’t either when he runs again.”
Waterhouse said she would monitor both Runaway and Northwest Passage over the next 24 hours before making plans.
“I’m not the handicapper. I’d imagine he (Runaway) would get a penalty today and that always helps,” Waterhouse said. “This has proven over the years to be a great lead-up to the Melbourne Cup and they’re peaking at the right time.”