Sydney Cup – What the jockeys said

It was a case of fifth time lucky for Who Shot Thebarman, who improved on his second in last year’s Cup to finally have his moment.

Find out what the jockeys made of their horses’ runs in the Group 1 $2m Schweppes Sydney Cup (3200m) at Royal Randwick.

Blake Shinn (Who Shot Thebarman): “What a thrilling finish, if there is every a horse that deserves to win a Sydney Cup it’s him, only narrowly beaten in two, nine-years-old and he’s got a great group of owners that follow him around every year.

“This is for the horse, credit to Chris Waller and his team getting him to backup every year.

“It means a lot to me to be able to do it for those guys, they’ve stuck solid with me the last couple of years riding him and it’s a massive thrill to be able to get him over the line today.”

Dean Holland (Zacada): “I thought I had pinched it. I was very upset to see that I got beat on the line. It was a good, tough effort and a great training performance.”

Damien Oliver (Almandin): “He ran well. It felt like he jarred up a bit late with those few runs on that firm ground.”

Brenton Avdulla (Libran): “He gave me a sweet ride. He travelled up to the corner but he just ran out of legs. Missing the Tancred has really affected him.”

Glen Boss (Ventura Storm): “He had the perfect run. He came into the race at the right time. He just didn’t quite run the last 200m out.”

Michael Dee (Five To Midnight): “We would have liked a more genuine pace to have my horse in a better rhythm.”

Glyn Schofield (Auvray): “He had a lovely run. He raced a bit tight for most of the trip on the fence. He showed guts and ran well.”

Craig Williams (Lord Fandango): “It was a good run. It was his first attempt at the trip and he just raced too keen the whole race. He’ll derive a lot from that. He is a lovely horse but at that trip I would recommend the Blinkers off him.”

Kerrin McEvoy (Aloft): “He got into a nice rhythm. We were up close. At the 1000m though he put the flag up and he was gone. It will be interesting to see how he pulls up.”

Andrew Adkins (Sir Charles Road): “He settled well. He gave me a nice feel coming into the turn. He wasn’t as strong at the end of the 3200m as others but he was only narrowly beaten. It was a huge run.”

Jay Ford (Lasqueti Spirit): “She was good, terrific. I rode her a little different to help her get the 3200m and she boxed on strong all of the way, she only finished two lengths off the winner.”

James Innes Jnr (Cismontane): “She got into a lovely rhythm. He had his chance but they were just a bit sharp for him.”

Craig Newitt (Patrick Erin): “He went good. He followed the winner through the run but just found them a bit too strong in the end.”

Corey Brown (Peribsen): “He didn’t have a lot of luck. He was three wide so I pushed on around the mile. To me he just didn’t quite back up or stay.”

Grant Buckley (Admiral Jello): “He ran a really nice race. I was caught three wide with no cover and there was a lot of merit in his run.”

Dean Yendall (Ormito): “I was happy with the spot early. It was disappointing from the 1000m onwards. I didn’t have the horse I thought I would have at the end of that trip. She struggled the last 800m.”

Yusuke Ichikawa (Doukhan): “He ran terrific. I was last but I was really happy with him at the top of the straight. He hit the line good.”