Nineteen years ago, the mighty Northerly took out the 2002 Caulfield Cup, carrying the highest weight to victory for thirty-five years. That outstanding win came, amongst others, between two other magnificent victories by Northerly who scored back-to-back wins in the 2001 and 2002 Cox Plates.
The champion runner was trained by champion trainer Fred Kersley.
Now it is the time for another of the illustrious Kersley racing clan to have his chance to feature in the Caulfield Cup limelight.
Fred Kersley, the grandson of Northerly’s Hall Of Fame trainer, will have his first ride in the Caulfield Cup on Saturday aboard the Chris Waller trained Selino, who is currently totally unwanted in the betting at $81.
But, better passing on Selino too quickly, punters might remember that this is the runner who stormed home to claim the Group 1 Sydney Cup when you also had to struggle to find his name way down on the betting boards at $26.
The $81 price has as much to do with the fact that the short-priced favourite Incentivise has such a stranglehold on the betting … there is only one other runner (Delphi) quoted in single figures … as it does with Selino’s arguably only lukewarm form in the build-up to the race.
It should be noted though that Selino has shown progressive improvement in each of his three runs this preparation since resuming after being allowed a break from race action for four-and-a-half months following that Sydney Cup win back in April.
Racing has always had a way of creating possibilities for amazing stories and, while a lot of them can’t find a fairytale ending, while they remain in play, these possibilities themselves continue to add to the rich fabric of the industry.
The Kersley family face just such a possibility on Saturday.
For now, it is just another sub-plot in an intriguing race.
Whether it can become more than that, we will only know on Saturday.
