Ciaron Maher has continued his outstanding Saturday afternoon by taking out the 2024 Caulfield Cup with Duke De Sessa ($11), who was piloted by the much-loved Harry Coffey in the $5 million feature at Caulfield Racecourse.
The five-year-old gelding was sent over to Australia in early 2023, and after running an underwhelming ninth place in last year’s Caulfield Cup, Duke De Sessa has proved too strong for his rivals over 2400m, taking out the race he was bought to race in, albeit 12 months later.
Incredibly, his win in the 2024 Caulfield Cup is the first victory for the son of Lope De Vega on Australian soil after running several placings in his 13 Aussie starts across two preparations.
As expected, Deny Knowledge ($19) crossed the field to lead the race, with the eventual winner settling behind her, while Eliyass ($6.50) and Sayedaty Sadaty ($15) rounded out the top four in running for the majority of the journey.
Zac Purton made a move on Land Legend ($8) to join Deny Knowledge and Duke De Sessa at the 600m mark, but it was Coffey who would kick clear on his gelding by the 400m mark and gave the rest of the field something to chase.
Duke De Sessa held a three-length lead over Land Legend with 300m to go, and there was only one runner that was making significant ground, which was the race favourite Buckaroo ($3.80).
Buckaroo chased strongly, but it was all in vein as Duke De Sessa held on to claim a 1.25-length win in the first of the three Australian horse racing majors.
2024 Caulfield Cup replay – Duke De Sessa
Jack Turnbull represented the Maher stable in the post-race interview.
“Oh, it’s magic to be honest,” Turnbull said.
“Yeah, just fantastic to get on the phone with him (Ciaron), especially after Bella.
“Pride Of Jenni’s walking into the yard as well, so we’ll hold fort for another ten minutes.
“But just pinch me moment sort of stuff. Stable are having an extremely good day.
“Very good ride by Harry. Everyone’s so thankful for Harry, and really appreciative for him to win. Everyone knows how well-deserved he is. It’s just amazing.
“Last season, he was a colt, and he had a good think about it, and he used to over-travel.
“This race in particular, we changed a bit, so we put a norton on. He obviously had 12 months of seasoning and conditioning, and Ciaron and the team just had a better handle on him.
“So the form is around him with Via Sistina, and it’s just amazing. It’s amazing, and it’s fantastic for the stable.
“Well, when I thought we were going to make all, I was okay, but when Deny Knowledge came around us, he just got a lovely drop, and they weren’t’ going fast, and he loves this ground.
“He’s fit. When they upped the ante at the right time, he was able to build into it, and it just got everyone chasing.
“When he put, you know, two or three lengths at the top of the straight, you knew he was going to sustain that, especially the way the track is playing. So, just unbelievable. Like, I cannot, you know, even think this is happening. Speechless.”
Harry Coffey claimed his first Caulfield Cup victory, and he was very happy with the win post-race.
“Oh, I don’t know how to describe this. How am I feeling? Spectacular,” Coffey said.
“Oh, phenomenal. When I let rip I thought maybe I’d gone too early. But one thing you can count on with Ciaron Maher and this amazing team he has, you can back your horses in.
“They’ll just keep running. And because of Ciaron, his horse’s owners, his staff, and more importantly the horse, I’ve been involved in the day I’ll never forget, on my birthday.
“Oh, I just couldn’t believe it, that he kept running.
“And that the Caulfield Cup was going to have Harry Coffey’s name next to it. Like, it’s just phenomenal. It’s not supposed to happen to people like myself. I’m just, I’m considered a battler. People like to laugh about how I’m a battler and a country boy. But, yeah, not many Caulfield Cups get won by country boys.
“So I couldn’t pull the horse up, to be honest. I just let him roll. And, yeah, me and him just had a little moment along the side here where I actually can’t tell you the love and the happiness I have for how well this horse ran today.
“As you can see, he’s pulled up absolutely tremendous. And once again, I don’t want to harp on it too much. Just a phenomenal effort from Ciaron and his team to condition stayers the way they do. Amazing feat to win an Everest and a Caulfield Cup on the same day.”
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