Litigant has caused an upset in the famous Ebor Handicap at York, beating possible Melbourne Cup contender Wicklow Brave.
The seven-year-old Litigant was having his first start for trainer Joe Tuite and was ridden by Oisin Murphy in the 2800m event.
Since spending two months in Melbourne as an apprentice in the summer of 2013/14, Murphy has risen through the ranks to become a retained rider for Qatar Racing.
For the lesser-known Tuite, it was a dream come true.
“That was superb. I’m speechless. It’s a marvellous team performance,” Tuite said.
“I’ve got 20 horses in training and six members of staff. We wanted rain. It didn’t come, but it’s perfect ground.
“They’ve worked unbelievably hard to get this horse back to the track. He’s very delicate.
“We’ve had a few quid on and we’ve dreamed it. We know he’s very good when he comes right.”
The 33-1 winner had a length-and-a-half in hand over the Willie Mullins-trained Wicklow Brave.
Tuite said he would now look at the two-mile (3200m) race at Ascot on Champions Day for Litigant while Mullins said he was unsure what Wicklow Brave would do next.
“Wicklow Brave ran a cracker,” Mullins said.
“I don’t know what we’ll do next. We’ll go home and think about it.”
