Visiting Irish apprentice Oisin Murphy has helped Eraset break a 19-month winning drought with an upset victory at Flemington on Saturday.
The Craftsman Handicap (1720m) appeared a race in two with equal $2.80 favourites He’s Your Man and Prince Of Penzance the only runners under double figure odds.
Eraset winning the Craftsman Handicap at Flemington ridden by Oisin Murphy and trained by Danny O'Brien - (photo by Steven Dowden/Race Horse Photos Australia)
But after getting a nice run in transit the Danny O’Brien-trained Eraset ($10) pounced in the straight under Murphy to win by 1-1/4-lengths.
Prince Of Penzance came from last for second with He’s Your Man grinding away to finish another three-quarters of a length away third.
Eraset hadn’t won for 15 starts with his most recent win in June 2012 at Flemington.
The owners kept faith with the gelding, who had been consistent without winning, and were rewarded on Saturday.
O’Brien said Eraset could be an awkward horse to ride but praised Murphy for his handling of the gelding in the race.
Murphy has been on-loan to O’Brien from English-based trainer Andrew Balding this summer and his stay has recently been extended from the end of January until mid-February.
“He’s been a pleasure to have,” O’Brien said.
“He’s a very good horseman so he’s a great guy to have in the mornings (at trackwork) and he’s a great guy to have in the afternoons when he produces rides like that.”
Prince Of Penzance settled at the tail of the field and finished well for second but jockey Michelle Payne felt the heat during the past week may have taken something out of the promising gelding.
“It was a very nice run, but he just felt a little bit flat today,” Payne said.
