Melbourne Cup runner has teaser pony father

Melbourne Cup contender Tiberian has a bloodline he won’t be shouting from the stable rooftops.

The French horse is the son of a teaser pony, Tiberius Caesar, who has little racing form to his name and spends his days at stud Haras du Logis stimulating mares before stallion Authorized comes to finish the deed.

Authorized is a multiple Group One winner, most notably claiming the Epsom Derby by five lengths in 2007.

In contrast, Tiberius Caesar’s biggest racing claim to fame is a Group Three win before he became a teaser.

But at the end of the 2011 stud season, and as a consolation for his frustrating and unfulfilling job, Haras du Logis manager Julian Ince rewarded “Caesar the Teaser” with his own mare, Toamasina.

The result was Tiberian.

The now six-year-old horse is in career-best form after winning his last two starts, a Group Three and a Group Two, both over 2500 metres at the Deauville-La Touques racecourse in France in August.

Champion French jockey Olivier Peslier will have the ride again when Tiberian makes his Australian debut on Tuesday in the Melbourne Cup.

All but a handful of the 36 horses listed in the Cup second acceptances come from Group One-winning sires.

Co-owner of Tiberius Caesar and Tiberian, Helmut Volz, says the race will be a “huge moment” for the stud.

“Julian Ince told us from the very start that he (Tiberian) was the best yearling of the year. However obviously with his pedigree, he was unsaleable,” he told French racing website Courses & Elevage.

“This year, we have four foals by Tiberius Caesar. I sent him my best mare last year.

“There are some things that defy the statistics. That is the dream that keeps us coming back.”

Tiberian, Magnentius and Yellow Storm are the only three known foals of teaser Tiberius Caesar to have raced.

In a twist of fate, Tiberian ($17) will meet one of Authorized’s sons at the barriers on Tuesday – dual Group One winner and 2016 Melbourne Cup placegetter Hartnell ($26).