Jessie Philpot and Nicole Bruggerman have captured the biggest win of their respective careers with Highly Decorated winning the Darwin Cup (2050m).
The five-year-old carried only 56kg in an all-the-way victory in the $200,000 feature.
It was the son of Epaulette’s seventh win in-a-row, with Philpot being aboard for all those wins.
Bruggerman, who is in the midst of relocating her stable to Darwin, couldn’t believe the victory.
“Look at the size of him, he’s tiny, and he just plays with them!” she said.
“He’s insane, I don’t know what I’m going to do with him now.
“I thought he got the lead coming past the post a little easier than he was going to, I thought there might have been a little bit more take him on.
“They were three-wide down the back, and you just keep doubting yourself, ‘have I got him fit enough’.
“The last 400m, that’s the last 400m he had to do it.
“Even halfway down the straight I couldn’t watch.”
Highly Decorated jumped from barrier one and was able to take the lead as they passed the finishing post for the first time.
He was taken on out in front during the middle stages of the race, but Philpot remained calm and continued to hold her leading position on the running rail.
Philpot was able to pinch a gap as they turned into the home straight, with the rest of the field under heavy pressure trying to run down the leader.
They couldn’t get to him though, with the five-year-old winning by 2.87 lengths on the line.
Speaking after the race, Philpot said she was waiting for a competitor to overtake her.
“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet,’ she said.
“He’s just a ripper of a horse.
“He still had to do a bit of work today and I thought it was a really tough run and I thought I was waiting for something to run me down, but he got there.
“I didn’t look back.”
Highly Decorated finished ahead of Danon Roman and Noir De Rue, with race favourite Casino Seventeen finishing in seventh position.
