Three days after Southern Moon finished second in the $2 million Victoria Derby, stablemate Bravo Tango has delivered a first Melbourne Cup carnival winner for emerging trainer Mitchell Freedman.
Freedman and jockey Billy Egan combined with Southern Moon in Saturday’s Group One Derby at Flemington, finishing second to Warning, and they went one better on Tuesday with Bravo Tango taking out the Grinders Coffee Roasters Trophy (1400m) at Flemington.
Five-year-old gelding Bravo Tango had finished 13th in the corresponding benchmark-90 race on Melbourne Cup day 12 months ago.
“He’s been a very frustrating horse and it’s good to see him deliver on a day like this,” Freedman said.
“He was a one-time favourite for the Australian Guineas and he hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations but we put this race in the book again after last year when he was disappointing and we really targeted it.
Bravo Tango ($8) defeated East Indiaman ($7) by a short neck with another head to William Thomas ($7.50) third.
Freedman has had two stakes winners this spring, with Moonlight Maid in the Group Two Edward Manifold Stakes at Flemington last month and Broadwayandfourth in the Listed William Crockett Stakes on Cox Plate day at The Valley.
The trainer’s next chance at a first Group One, after having two runners on Derby Day, comes in Thursday’s VRC Oaks with Moonlight Maid, to be ridden by Ben Melham, on the second line of betting.
