Godolphin’s Best Solution wins Caulfield Cup
melbourne — Godolphin stable’s Best Solution won the Caulfield Cup in a photo finish ahead of American-bred Homesman, with The Cliffsofmoher finishing third on Saturday in the 2,400m race.
Ridden by Pat Cosgrave of Northern Ireland, Best Solution recovered from a bad start to follow Taj Mahal at 600m to go and hold on for the Group One win.
Cosgrave was later suspended by race stewards for 11 meetings for a careless riding charge.
The jockey decided to take his suspension immediately, which means he will miss the Cox Plate, another major lead-up race to the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s richest and most prestigious race on Nov. 6 at Flemington.
Cosgrave plans to ride in Dubai on Nov. 3 before returning to Melbourne to again partner Best Solution in the Melbourne Cup.
Cosgrave pleaded guilty to the charge that he allowed Best Solution to shift in near the 1,800m mark of the Caulfield Cup, tightening Japanese runner Sole Impact.
Japanese rider Ryusei Sakai was also suspended for causing interference at the same point of the Caulfield Cup when he too shifted ground when not clear. He was suspended for 11 meetings and is able to ride again on Oct. 31.
For trainer Saeed bin Suroor, he might not have won a Melbourne Cup yet but he now has two Caulfield Cups following the success 10 years ago of All The Good.
The trainer, who has won eight Group 1 races throughout the world this year, paid tribute to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; for targeting the Caulfield Cup with Best Solution.
“It was his decision to send this horse to Australia and it’s great to see Best Solution come after winning two Group 1 races in Germany to Australia,” he said. “It’s very satisfying,” Suroor told Racing.com
Bin Suroor has finished runnerup in the Melbourne Cup three times but confirmed Best Solution would be trying to break the losing run in the race that stretches back 20 years. “The Melbourne Cup is a big race for us. It would be a dream but we’ll try.” —