Bankers Choice has secured a berth in the Caulfield Cup with a fighting win at Mornington.
A ballot exemption was up for grabs in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) in October for the winner of Saturday’s Listed Mornington Cup over the same journey.
Bankers Choice provided his trainer Glen Thompson with his most important victory as he held off a trio of Ciaron Maher-trained stayers.
Ridden by Daniel Stackhouse, Bankers Choice (10) scored a short-half-head victory from Strawberry Rock ($21) with Smokin’ Romans ($21) a further 1-¼ lengths away third.
Teo Nugent, who rode the runner-up Strawberry Rock, looked at the replay of the final stages of the race before deciding again lodging an objection.
Bankers Choice was prepared by Thompson and Mike Moroney before Moroney died in his sleep in February.
The gelding scored at Caulfield over 2400m on March 15, the last time he appeared on the racetrack before Saturday’s success.
Moroney’s longtime racing manager Anthony Feroce said the plan had been to try and get Bankers Choice into last year’s Caulfield Cup, but the gelding was struggling for form.
“It’s amazing,” Feroce said.
“The plan was last spring to get him into the Caulfield Cup after he ran second in the Sandown Classic the year before.
“Unfortunately, he ran poorly during the spring, but he’s been in great order this time in, and everyone has done a great job.”
Stackhouse won last year’s Mornington Cup on Esti Feny and Feroce said the jockey had formed a good bond with the stayer.
“Stacky, he jumped on him at Moonee Valley one day and we decided to do something a bit different, go forward,” Feroce said.
“It worked and ever since he’s been a different horse.
“The race worked out perfectly. We got into the position we thought we would get into and he hit the line really well.”
Feroce said the Listed Warrnambool Cup (2350m) on May 1 remains a possibility.
“Otherwise, we could just look towards the spring,” Feroce said.
“But he’s the type of horse that going into the spring last year he had his longest spell, and it didn’t suit the horse.
“He might be one that likes being in the stable and likes a freshen up.”
Aktau won the Cup in the same colours Bankers Choice carried in 2020 but did not make it to the 2025 Caulfield Cup later in the year.
