World Event
- November 6th, 2007
- Posted by 7thmin
Efficient’s win today in the Melbourne Cup has not really checked the internationalisation of that national event — a high-stakes distance race that patriots have found far too attractive to raiders from Asia and the EU.
Efficient did run down the English five year-old Purple Moon, trained by Luca Cumani from the UK, beating also the Irish contender, Mahler, in third place.
But, a small scratch on Australia’s champion of the week, (Trainer Graeme Ross, jockey Michael Rodd, owned by Lloyd Williams), would reveal yet another international link.
The horse’s sire is Zabeel, from Aotearoa, the Land of Stayers … and Zabeel is no stranger to the Cup, being responsible for earlier winners, Might and Power, and Jezabeel.
Andrew Stevenson of the Sydney Morning Herald, after talking with Zabeel’s owner, New Zealand stud master Patrick Hogan, saw it coming, and foreshadowed once again a cosmopolitan Cup finale … and that was a year ago. Efficient was scratched from the 2006 Melbourne Cup, leaving these predictive words until today:
“Given his bloodline … Efficient was never going to be a nobody.
“Pitched into the Cup …. Efficient would rewrite the record books should he win today’s race …
“Watch out when he wakes up; this horse has speed to make his rivals look like they’re plodding …”
Reference:
Andrew Stevenson, “Success runs in the family for Efficient”, SMH, 7.11.06. http://www.smh.com.au, (6.11.07)
Picture:
Welcome all-comers: the Melbourne Cup quickly became the premier national turf event before moving on to bigger things.