Veteran seven-year-old Homesman continued an excellent Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival for Anthony & Sam Freedman scoring a notable upset at $26 in the Australian Cup 2021 results at Flemington on ‘Super Saturday’.
Homesman scored an upset win in the 2021 Australian Cup results at Flemington on Super Saturday. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.
Following on from the stable’s Blue Diamond Stakes win with Artorius a fortnight back, the Freedman team were back to take home the Group 1 $1.5 million Australian Cup (2000m) trophy with the always-honest Homesman.
First-up winner at The Valley last October in the Group 2 Crystal Mile (1600m), the American-bred War Front gelding presented fit second-up at HQ.
He came off an eye-catching third only a length off Paradee in the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) and relished the 2000m distance in the time-honoured Australian Cup.
Last year’s Melbourne Cup winning hoop Jye McNeil retained the ride on Homesman and rode him to perfection out three-wide wide giving the horse plenty of room to wind-up.
Steel Prince took up the lead from Best Of Days, Homesman settled around fifth just behind his last start conqueror Paradee who got a lovely trail fourth then third throughout.
The pace quickened as the field approached the home turn, Steel Prince collared on the straight by the James Cummings-trained Best Of Days coming off a Group 2 Blamey Stakes (1600m) fourth.
The Australian Cup turned into a thrilling two-horse battle as Homesman moved up to fight it out with fellow $26 outsider Best Of Days at the 100m, the duo going stride-for-stride in an exciting photo-finish.
Top honours eventually went to Homesman who went up the inside to just get over the top of a brave Best Of Days with the Michael Moroney-trained Chapada rounding out the lucrative trifecta in third as a 30/1 shot in Australian Cup betting.
“It’s a big thrill. A huge team effort,” co-trainer Sam Freedman told Racing Victoria after the race.
“Jye rode him perfectly, a bit of room to move. One thing he’s got is that tenacity and that real will to win.
“We couldn’t quite get that spot in The All-Star Mile, but this is perhaps this was a bit better.”
2021 Australian Cup Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | HOMESMAN (USA) | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Jye McNeil | 14 | 59kg | $26 | |||
| 2 | 7 | BEST OF DAYS (GB) | James Cummings | Luke Nolen | 0.1L | 17 | 59kg | $26 | ||
| 3 | 9 | CHAPADA | Michael Moroney | Daniel Stackhouse | 1.1L | 9 | 59kg | $41 | ||
| 4 | 17 | PARADEE | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 1.3L | 1 | 57kg | $8 | ||
| 5 | 6 | ANGEL OF TRUTH | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | William Pike | 1.6L | 13 | 59kg | $17 | ||
| 6 | 12 | DEFIBRILLATE (NZ) | Patrick Payne | Billy Egan | 1.7L | 4 | 59kg | $12 | ||
| 7 | 15 | MIAMI BOUND (NZ) | Danny O’Brien | Daniel Moor | 1.8L | 8 | 57kg | $151 | ||
| 8 | 13 | SAN HUBERTO (IRE) | Matt Cumani | Dean Yendall | 1.9L | 6 | 59kg | $19 | ||
| 9 | 8 | STEEL PRINCE (IRE) | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Ms Jamie Kah | 2.1L | 11 | 59kg | $9.50 | ||
| 10 | 3 | FIFTY STARS (IRE) | Tom Dabernig & Ben Hayes | John Allen | 2.3L | 3 | 59kg | $3.50F | ||
| 11 | 11 | SHARED AMBITION (IRE) | Chris Waller | Mark Zahra | 2.4L | 2 | 59kg | $11 | ||
| 12 | 2 | HARLEM (GB) | Tom Dabernig & Ben Hayes | Michael Walker | 3.9L | 7 | 59kg | $41 | ||
| 13 | 10 | PLATOON | Neville Parnham | Brad Parnham | 4.4L | 10 | 59kg | $51 | ||
| 14 | 1 | HUMIDOR (NZ) | Chris Waller | Damian Lane | 5.4L | 12 | 59kg | $15 | ||
| 15 | 14 | NONCONFORMIST | Grahame Begg | Luke Currie | 6.65L | 16 | 59kg | $15 | ||
| 16 | 5 | WARNING | Anthony & Sam Freedman | Damien Oliver | 10.15L | 15 | 59kg | $21 | ||
| 17 | 16 | MISS SISKA | Matthew Smith | Michael Dee | 12.65L | 5 | 57kg | $91 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
