A spring campaign based out of Mount Macedon has provided Sheila Laxon a second victory in the Melbourne Cup with Knight’s Choice winning Australia’s great race at Flemington.
Now training on the Sunshine Coast with partner John Symons, Laxon became the first female trainer to win the Melbourne Cup when Ethereal scored in 2001.
Symons was instrumental in setting up Mount Macedon in the late 1990’s and Laxon used the training facilities to win the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups double.
A move to the Sunshine Coast seven years ago with a view to retirement was put on hold after a big-race win at the Magic Millions Carnival and the pair now has 23 horses in work and a Melbourne Cup trophy to add to the cabinet.
Ridden by former Irish jockey Robbie Dolan, Knight’s Choice ($91) defeated Japanese raider Warp Speed ($26) by a half-head with Okita Sushi ($19) a further three-quarters-of-a-length away third.
Symons said Knight’s Choice’s campaign in Victoria had been thwarted by wet tracks, and all the pair wanted to see was the stayer get the chance to show his best form.
That improved performance came in the Bendigo Cup when Knight’s Choice finished fifth behind Sea King, after a luckless run.
“The lead-ups were all skew-whiff because he’s a duffer in the wet,” Symons said.
“He went to Kilcoy in a maiden and got beaten on a wet track, and running him in those Group 1 races against the best horses in the country on wet tracks, well, he was going to run like he did.
“However, if we didn’t run, we wouldn’t get a run in the Melbourne Cup, so we had to go around.
“We had to chance our hand that we were going to get into the Cup because we were a fair way down to start with.”
Symons pointed to the success he had at Macedon Lodge before leviathan owner Lloyd Williams purchased the property from where Efficient, Green Moon and Almandin were all prepared to win the Cup.
In the early days of the property, Symons trained a Blue Diamond winner, a Thousand Guineas winner while Laxon produced her Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup double.
“Sheila asked if we could be at Macedon Lodge (for the campaign),” Symons said.
“We’ve got to thank Mark Player and, I haven’t met the owner, Bruce Dixon for letting us stay there.
“Everyone knows the success going back 20-odd years that we had from there, Blue Diamonds, Thousand Guineas, Caulfield, Melbourne Cups.
“We just love the place and we know how to use it.”
Dolan said winning the Melbourne Cup was an incredible feeling, one that he can’t put into words.
“Well, pinch me. I think I’m dreaming,” Dolan said.
“It’s incredible. I just can’t believe it.
“This is the biggest race in the world, and to win it is just incredible.
“I’ve got my family here, my partner, Christine, our little baby, Masie. My dad flew over from Ireland, and now you got me in tears.”
The race did not turn out how Dolan expected it as the pace was quite quick early and he was forced to ride Knight’s Choice further back than anticipated.
So, he rode the stayer for luck, knowing the gelding has a brilliant turn of speed.
“There wasn’t enough room for me to come outside, so I decided to cut the corner.
“I heard Kerrin (McEvoy) giving me a call along the inside. I initially would have gone for the run that he went for.
“Once my horse spotted the gap and he changed leads, he just picked up on me and once I pulled the stick through, he found another gear again.
“He’s only a small little horse, but he gives his all every start, and that’s half the battle with him, and he’s proved a lot of people wrong.”