A few minutes after his horse had strolled away for a 20-length win in the $300,000 Jericho Cup (4600m) on Sunday, part-owner Peter Groidis struggled to talk of how his racing dream had come true.
Groidis, who sourced 20-length winner Farag (NZ) (Sacred Falls) from New Zealand to win the race that commemorates one of Australia’s most famous World War I battles, struggled with his emotions in a post-race Racing.com interview as he put the victory in heavy going into perspective.
“It’s about the horse and about the occasion,” he said. “You don’t get too many races in Australia where it means so much to the people of Australia.
“If you are a patriotic Australian, and you love horse racing, this is the race to win. You can have your Melbourne Cup as there is no other race to win as a family.”
Farag was certainly no fluke winner. His victory for jockey Will Gordon and local trainer Aaron Purcell was his seventh in 2024 for his connections. And by far his most impressive.
On the line, after travelling like the winner for the entire trip, Farag ran clear to beat Split (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) by 20 lengths, with a further length to Glen Massey (NZ) (Roc de Cambes) in third place.
Gordon had won the race previously with Wil John, but he said he would never tire of winning such a race.
“It’s massive,” he said. “It’s such an historic race, It means a lot, like, the carryings-on before it with the silence and that firing and stuff, there’s a lot of meaning behind this race and it doesn’t go unnoticed at all, so it’s a credit to everyone for putting it together.”
Purcell said he enjoyed the watch for much the entire 4600-metre journey.
“I thought the horses from the pack would chase him down, but I was confident our horse wouldn’t stop, so I was happy to see him hit the front as I knew he’d be a hard horse to get past.”
Farag was sold by breeder Bruce Sherwin as a unraced 3yo on Gavelhouse for $1000 to Shelley Wright who retains some ownership interest.