Choice of knight etched his name into Australian folklore when he knocked out a shock Melbourne Cup (G1) winner at Flemington Racecourse on November 5, using his father, a Newgate Farm resident, to lend a hand out Extreme selectionwith its fourth Group 1 winner.
Many viewers were stunned by what was just unfolding in the AU$8.56 million ($5.68 million) race, and the AU$91-1 odds gave assistant trainer Sheila Laxon second Melbourne Cup victory after Ethereal in 2001. and a first for her training partner John Symons.
Guided to the finish by Robbie Dolan, the 5-year-old gelded fought his way between his rivals in the home straight and after reaching the top in the final 150 meters, he held on on the bobsleigh and beat the Japanese raider Warp speed. Oddly enough, the two leaders finished next to each other but well behind in last month's Caulfield Cup (G1), with Knight's Choice finishing 14th with triple-digit odds, while Warp Speed finished one place ahead of its rival.
On Tuesday, the leading pair finished a further 0.8 lengths ahead of the third-place finisher Okita Soushi .
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With its AU$91 win, Knight's Choice is the fifth highest winner of the Melbourne Cup.
“It's unbelievable. I just can't believe it. I don’t even know what to say,” said Dolan, whose father Bobby Dolan was also a jockey in Ireland. “I can't even put it into words. This is the biggest race in the world and to win it is just incredible.”
“I have my family here, my partner Christine, our little baby Masie. My father flew in from Ireland and now you have brought me to tears.”
“I recently watched every Melbourne Cup from the last 40 years. I just thought my best chance was if I got him to stay for the trip and hopefully he could come home and speed it up; good sections that he can do well.” He just proved everyone wrong.
Dolan was quick to credit both Laxon and Symons.
The autumn sun after not having had a foal for three years.
