Former French horse Don Diego De Vega has prevailed in a dramatic Grafton Cup with the pre-post favourite scratched at the barrier and the eventual runner-up all but throwing the race away in the straight.
Top fancy Bear On The Loose got his leg over the gate in the starting stalls and was a late scratching on veterinary advice.
One of the on-pace runners, his withdrawal prompted some quick thinking from Don Diego De Vega’s jockey Zac Lloyd before the barriers opened and it proved crucial.
“The plan changed in the barriers when Bear On The Loose got scratched and he was one of the speed runners in the race,” Lloyd told Sky Racing.
“I made my mind up in the gates. He was very well pre-race and going to the gates he was full of energy so I was confident he was going to begin well and once he did that, it really made my job pretty easy.
“I crossed the runners to my inside and we got a lovely run.”
Don Diego De Vega ($4.60 betting equal fav) stalked leader Quietness ($4.60 equal fav), who travelled kindly until straightening for home when she ducked out badly and then continued to wobble all over the track, almost certainly costing herself any chance of victory.
Lloyd was able to sneak up on her inside and his Annabel and Rob Archibald -trained mount proved too strong, taking out the Grafton Cup (2350m) by three-quarters of a length over Quietness with Zoology ($15) another length away third.
It was the former French gelding’s first win in Australia and part-owner Brendan Nelson, representing the Australian Bloodstock syndicate that races him, said they were concerned the good track might have brought him undone.
“We were a little bit uncertain with this surface today. He really likes to get his toe in but he just came out and did a brilliant job,” Nelson said.
“He has been a wonderful horse. He hasn’t shown us everything yet but we can’t wait to see where this takes him.
“Fingers crossed we will see him a little bit later in the year. He has certainly shown us he’s got plenty of ability.”
It was a first Grafton Cup win for both the Archibalds and Lloyd, the latter having done some of his earliest riding in the NSW Northern Rivers region.
“I started my career here with Toby and Trent (Edmonds) so good to come back here and win the Cup,” Lloyd said.
