Jockey Nick Hall gave Jameka the perfect ride to claim his second win in the Group 1 $3m BMW Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield today.
Jameka with NIck Hall standing high in the irons wins the Caulfield Cup at Caulfield. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Hall claimed the Caulfield Cup trophy in 2013 on Fawkner and from barrier eleven today in the sixteen horse field was able to get the Ciaron Maher trained mare into a perfect trailing position in fifth spot behind the constantly changing leaders.
Tally began quickly from a wide barrier and raced to the front at the winning post the first before Real Love took over down the side.
Kerrin McEvoy then wasn’t happy with the pace and let Godolphin’s Engish stayer Scottish slide to the front at the 1000m and take the Caulfield Cup field up to the home turn.
Meanwhile Hall had positioned Jameka three wide outside of Scottish giving the $4.20 favourite a clear a run to the line to record a three lengths win over Scottish ($7) who held on well for second.
The Lee and Anthony Freedman trained Exospheric ($15) ran on from the back to fill third spot, the same place Our Ivanhowe finished for the Freedman’s last year.
Hall had been on a Spartan diet all week to get down to Jameka’s handicapped weight of 52.5kg and celebrated well before the finish line, standing high in the irons with several waves of the whip.
Caulfield trainer Ciaron Maher was virtually lost for words as he claimed his first Caulfield Cup win on his home track after a carefully planned preparation fell into place.
“It’s a credit to the team. Nick Hall a perfect ride. Very cool, made the weight,” Maher said.
“It is just fantastic. It is one of the big three.”
“She is just a competitive horse and when those horses are outside of her she is flicking her head but she is not actually over racing. I wasn’t over concerned, she has done it in the past.”
Even though Jameka looked the winner half way down the straight when she dashed clear, Maher restrained himself from celebrating until well within the final 100m when nothing else had a chance of beating her.
“I am never one to get too excited but about the hundred I thought well we are kicking into gear now.”
Maher is uncertain if Jameka will now go to the Group 1 $3m Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 22 or the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on November 1 but will have to contend with a significant weight penalty if she heads to the ‘Race That Stops A Nation’.
Watch the replay of the 2016 Caulfield Cup finish:
JAMEKA!
Took the #CaulfieldCup by the scruff of the neck and DOMINATED the field! What a win! https://t.co/PjlRnRGV9b— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 15, 2016
