“When he got going from the 800 and [was] circling the whole field I probably knew that our chances were over from there, although for a brief 20 seconds I thought, ‘Here we go’, if he can keep going when he looped them and looked strong.
“Obviously, that didn’t last for long. I just don’t think, and it is probably obvious, you can’t win a Melbourne Cup doing that.
Jockey Joao Moreira rode Buckaroo in the Melbourne Cup.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“You could say he didn’t stay, but I don’t think there was any horse in that field that would have been able to do that and win the race or stay anyway.”
Moreira said after the race he thought the horse, which finished second in the Caulfield Cup and nearly defeated Cox Plate winner Via Sistina in the Turnbull Stakes, didn’t stay the trip.
Loading
“[He] didn’t have the best of runs because he was in too wide. It was hard to get in. He had to travel a little wide,” Moreira said.
“He still had cover, but the distance probably just stretched him too much and the last little bit, he started getting tired. So I’d say he couldn’t really run the distance.”
Moreira – who is known as “the Magic Man” – is a talented rider who has had success in Hong Kong. However, his rides in the past two Melbourne Cups have been heavily scrutinised.
O’Neill, who also owned Soulcombe, was gracious in his assessment of how difficult it was for jockeys.
“It’s very difficult because you draw these gates, you draw in, you draw out, you make split-second decisions on things that either win or lose you a race,” O’Neill said.
“If you’re Joao, he’s a world-class rider, does he go back inside? We saw what we experienced last year with Soulcombe going back inside. Funnily enough the horses that ran first [Knight’s Choice], second [Warp Speed] and fifth [Absurde] have all gone back inside.
Moreira and Buckaroo head out to the start gate for the Melbourne Cup.Credit: Getty Images
“For us, it was a really disappointing and frustrating day. We got way too far back in my opinion.”
Trainer Chris Waller admitted on Monday that they had considered replacing Moreira before the Cup when champion jockey James McDonald became available following the decision not to run Via Sistina in the Cup.
Loading
However, Kheir said they reflected on their decision to replace Craig Williams on Soulcombe ahead of the race last year and decided not to make a late call to switch jockeys again. Kheir remained undeterred and said the disappointment was part of what made being involved so alluring.
“Why I love the sport so much and why I continue to invest in it is because it is bloody hard to get a horse to these big races and then win them,” Kheir said.
Pride Of Jenni jockey replaced for $3m race
Pride Of Jenni owner Tony Ottobre has opted for a shock jockey change in a bid to spark one of the country’s most popular gallopers for Champions Day at Flemington on Saturday.
Regular jockey Declan Bates, who has ridden Pride Of Jenni in her past 10 starts, has been replaced by Ben Melham ahead of the $3 million Champions Mile on the final day of the Melbourne Cup carnival.
Bates was a major part of Pride Of Jenni’s rise to racing cult hero, recruited by Ottobre to capitalise on the mare’s bold front-running style that helped her to three group 1 wins and the All-Star Mile before being crowned Australian horse of the year.
Declan Bates salutes as Pride Of Jenni wins the All-Star Mile.Credit: Getty
But Pride Of Jenni has had an indifferent spring carnival, winning the group 2 Feehan Stakes (1600m), but being beaten by Ceolwulf in the $5 million King Charles Stakes (1600m) before tiring badly to finish almost 16 lengths behind Via Sistina in the Cox Plate (2040m).
Ottobre declined to comment about the change of jockeys on Wednesday, but pointed out that his mare had broken the track record for 1600m at Moonee Valley while running in the Cox Plate.
Loading
The owner had also questioned Racing NSW stewards about the tactics of rival Major Beel in the King Charles Stakes after the Gai Waterhouse-Adrian Bott galloper kept Pride Of Jenni 10-wide for the opening 500m of the race.
Pride Of Jenni tired late to finish second, while 100-1 shot Major Beel finished eight-lengths tenth.
Trainer Ciaron Maher said the rider change was an owner decision, but expected Pride Of Jenni to still be at the front of the field at some stage of Saturday’s group 1 event.
“She runs consistent fractions so you just need to get them right,” Maher said.
Bates took to social media to say he looked forward to continuing his relationship with the Ottobre family.
“It has been a huge privilege to ride Pride Of Jenni, and one of the greatest experiences of my riding career so far,” he posted on X. “She certainly is a once-in-a-lifetime horse. I wish her and Tony all the best for Saturday.”
Via Sistina back on track
Champions Day at Flemington will mark the return of Via Sistina after the record-breaking Cox Plate winner was withdrawn by connections from the Melbourne Cup.
Trainer Chris Waller’s decision to keep Via Sistina at the middle distance of the $3 million group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) means she will start a red-hot, odds-on favourite.
Her closest rival in the market is group 1-winning stablemate Atishu, while last year’s Caulfield Cup-Melbourne Cup-winning star Without A Fight will have his first run in 12 months after sustaining a tendon injury.
There will be two big head-to-head clashes in Flemington’s other headline events – the $3 million Champion Sprint and $3 million Champions Mile.
James McDonald and Via Sistina will run at Flemington on Saturday.Credit: Eddie Jim
Mr Brightside and Pride Of Jenni will renew hostilities in the 1600m group 1 race, while the first two home in the Everest – Bella Nipotina and Giga Kick – clash in the group 1 1200m sprint.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
