Melbourne Cup runner-up Heartbreak City hopes to one day return
A part-owner of Melbourne Cup runner-up Heartbreak City hopes to one day return and collect victory in the coveted race.
Aidan Shiels, on his his first trip for the Cup, hopes to be back in 12 months with Heartbreak City following his long-head second to Almandin.
“We’ll have a few drinks with the handicapper here and if he’s not too hard on us, we’ll be back,” Shiels said.
“It’s a great place to come and to be involved in this race.”
Shiels went into Tuesday’s race hoping for a top ten finish and was over the moon with Heartbreak City’s performance to finish second.
“You can’t go crying over spilt milk,” Shiels said.
“There’s no giving up. The horse gave 120 per cent, so what more can you ask for.
“I wouldn’t say we didn’t get home, the winner just beat us fair and square on the day.”
Shiels said the team would party until the return trip home.
“Second (place), we’re going to drink tonight and many other nights,” he said.
“By God, we’re not gonna cry.”
Darren Dance, manager of Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock, purchased a 40 per cent share in Heartbreak City following the gelding’s win in the Ebor at York in August.
For Dance it was his second placing at the hands of Lloyd Williams in a big Cup race in Melbourne after the ATB-owned Dandino was beaten by Fawkner in the 2013 Caulfield Cup.
It was also a second placing for Dance in the Cup after Jakkalberry finished third behind the Williams-owned Green Moon in 2012.
“Lloyd’s hard to beat in this race and that’s what he specialises in,” Dance said.
“They can buy horses that are worth a lot more than we can afford to spend.
“At the end of the day we have to work really hard and smart to find those horses that fly under the radar.
“We’ve got a pretty good system of identifying the right horses so we’ve just got to keep doing the work and one day it will be our turn.”
