Pre-race confidence was matched by post-race emotion when Mister Milton rediscovered the form that seemed to have permanently deserted him at Flemington on Saturday.
Carrying the colours made famous 30 years ago by the champion sprinter Rancher and trained, strapped and adored by the man who used to wear them, Mister Milton won the Listed Straight Six (1200m) in the style of a good horse.
“There was no way anything in the world was going to beat him today,” trainer Norman Waymouth said.
“He just couldn’t get beat.”
Mister Milton hadn’t won since January last year, having raced in the best company last spring and this autumn.
But dropping back a couple of classes and having put a series of problems behind him, Mister Milton ($10) justified his trainers’ faith, beating By The Way by 1-1/4 lengths and giving his rider Damian Lane the third of his three winners for the day.
For Waymouth the win proved sentimental for many reasons.
“He’s never let me down,” he said.
“For him to get where he’s got with the problems he’s had … he’s done a magic job.”
Rancher won his first five starts as a two and three-year-old in 1982, including the Blue Diamond Stakes, when ridden by Waymouth and trained by his late father Charlie.
The blue and yellow colours he carried have since held a special place in his trainers’ life.
“They’re beautiful those colours,” he said.
“To see them going past the post in front brings back some fabulous memories.”
Past glories also came to life after the win of Unchain My Heart in the day’s other feature, the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes (3200m).
The win added to the resurgence of the David Hayes’ stable that went “missing” for 18 months after he moved his base from South Australia to Euroa in central Victoria.
But since mid-November Hayes’ 40 city winners have given him the best strike-rate of any trainer in Melbourne.
Unchain My Heart ($6) weaved a path through the field over the final 300m to score by a half-length Wells ($7.50) with 1-3/4 lengths to Thubiaan ($6) in third.
