SIMPLY THE BEST
Best Solution takes out Caulfield Cup
CAULFIELD CA Cup hero Best Solution Solut may not be the best stayer Godolphin has sent Down Under but b he could finally provide the w world’s most powerful racing oper operation with an elusive Melbo bourne Cup triumph. Best Solution produced an outstanding staying performance to shoulder topweight of 57.5kg and overcome a wide barrier and a slow start to win the $5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) in a thrilling finish at Caulfield yesterday.
Trainer Saeed bin Suroor confirmed Best Solution would now go straight to the Melbourne Cup – a race Godolphin has been trying to win for more than two decades.
Godolphin owner Sheik Mohammed’s famous royal blue colours have won most of the world’s biggest races but a Melbourne Cup has proved frustratingly elusive with three seconds placings by Central Park (1999), Give The Slip (2007) and Crime Scene (2009), and thirds with Beekeeper (2002) and Hartnell (2016).
“I think this horse will run a strong two miles (3200m), he will be fine,’’ bin Suroor said.
“If he can get into a nice position like he did today, then he will run well. He is a classy horse.
“The Melbourne Cup is a big race for us, it would be a dream but we’ll try.’’
Best Solution ($12) was brilliantly ridden by Irishman Pat Cosgrave to win the Caulfield Cup by a halfhead from Homesman ($9.50), with nearly two lengths to The Cliffsofmoher ($6.50).
It proved an action-packed Caulfield Cup, marred slightly by the stop-start tempo set early by Ace High, but it developed into a thriller. The race highlights included:
Best Solution became the fourth No.1 saddlecloth-bearer to win the Caulfield Cup this century after Northerly (2002), Viewed (2009) and Admire Rakti (2014);
Bin Suroor trained his second Caulfield Cup winner after All Too Good scored in 2008;
Best Solution firmed from $26 into $9 second favouritism for the $7.3 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington on November 6;
He is now on track to become
the 12th horse to complete the coveted Caulfield-Melbourne cups double, most recently achieved by Ethereal in 2001;
Overseas-trained stayers filled three of the top four placings – Best Solution, The Cliffsofmoher (third) and Duretto (fourth);
Kings Will Dream started favourite at $5.50 and had little luck, finishing sixth; and
Jon Snow ($31) was so eager to race, he burst through the barriers before the start but then ran last.
Cosgrave continued his Australian adventure with a second Group 1 win in seven days, after riding Godolphin’s Benbatl to win the Caulfield Stakes last week.
The 36-year-old Irishman produced one of the great Caulfield Cup rides to win, but deflected all praise back to the horse.
“I can’t believe it,’’ he said. “The two big wins of my career have been here at Caulfield, I’m in dreamland now, it’s just crazy.
“I’ve got to give all credit to the horse. I had a bad trip round the course. I had a bad draw, jumped slow and had to commit earlier than I should have.
“I got into a nice position but I worked so hard to get where I wanted to be. I was five-deep out of the first turn and I had to wait a while to get my position.
“He was there to be beaten. On this effort, I think anything is possible in the Melbourne Cup.’’
Bin Suroor said he was confident Best Solution would shoulder his 57.5kg to win the Caulfield Cup when he saw Cosgrave had guided the stayer across from barrier 17 to settle one-off the fence in fourth.
“I told Pat before the race if you can get Best Solution into third or fourth, he will win the race,’’ bin Suroor said. “When I saw him there so close at the first turn, I thought he would win.
“Best Solution is a class horse, he won two Group 1 races in Germany and his form in England has been good, too.
“This horse has improved a lot this year physically and mentally and gave us the confidence to come for this race.’’
Best Solution is now eligible for a Melbourne Cup penalty. He currently has 57.5kg for the famous Flemington two-miler, with Racing Victoria chief handicapper indicating he will make an announcement about whether to re-handicap the Caulfield Cup winner tomorrow.