Without A Fight, ridden by Mark Zahra, has won the $5 million Caulfield Cup, edging West Wind Blows into second place in a brilliant finish.
Pre-race favourite Gold Trip, who had been a doubt to run earlier in the day over concerns from trainers over the firmness of the track, finished third over the 2,400-metre course.
Gold Trip was second to Chris Waller’s Durston in last year’s Caulfield Cup before claiming a famous Melbourne Cup triumph as the top-weight.
Without A Fight, owned by Dubai-based Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, was in doubt to start the race until Friday, after Racing Victoria vets found lameness in the left front foot in an inspection on Thursday.
The horse’s condition improved and he was passed fit to race 24 hours later to run for trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman.
Right You Are hit the front at the top of the straight, but West Wind Blows took over at the 200m mark, followed by Gold Trip and Without A Fight down the outside.
The lead pair kicked clear to fight it out for the win, with Without A Fight coming through to win by less than a quarter of a length from West Wind Blows, with Gold Trip a further two lengths away in third.
The Caulfield Cup is one of four parts of Australia’s grand slam of racing, along with the Cox Plate, the Melbourne Cup and the Golden Slipper.
“The last 24 hours, we were worried he wasn’t going to get a start,” Sam Freedman told Channel Seven after the race.
“As a trainer you would never send a horse to the races that you didn’t feel was ready to go. This horse, we know him so well, and all the staff they worked tirelessly to get these results.”
The Caulfield Cup win meant Without A Fight was the first horse trained by a member of the Freedman family since Mummify in 2003.
“It has been a tough enough sort of 6 to 12 months, and, yeah, look I am sure the old man [Freedman’s father Anthony] will be at home and getting a bit emotional.”
Zahra had committed to ride Without A Fight earlier in the year, but had ridden Gold Trip in four of his last five races, including a brilliant win in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington.
“I don’t really celebrate much but with the week I have had and things that have gone on, I just had to kick myself in the ribs,” Zahra told Seven.
“My wife did it for me and said, “Let’s just focus on the ride we have got”, and we had a beautiful run and he did the best.”
The aftermath of the race saw Racing Victoria stewards issue Zahra with a seven-day suspension and a fine of $50,000 for a breach of the whip rules.
Zahra was found to have used the whip nine times prior to the 100m mark, and 13 times in total.
The rules allow jockeys to use the whip five times before the 100m mark, without a limit in the final stages of the race.
The suspension will take effect after next Saturday’s Cox Plate meeting at Moonee Valley.
AAP/ABC