Great Western Cup victory caps big weekend in Australia

The Great Western Cup is a race in which Godolphin had never had a runner until Nozomi tackled the feature race of the tiny western Victorian town on Sunday.

But the trophy that went with the gelding’s victory will sit proudly among the many others won by horses carrying the famous blue colours.

As a G1 Victoria Derby placegetter, Nozomi (Lee and Anthony Freedman/Liam Reardon) looked the class runner of a small field and duly won with authority, taking control with 500m to run and safely holding off Something To Share to score by a length-and-three-quarters.

The win also capped a weekend during which Godolphin’s Australian team won seven races, suggesting the team is in the sort of order head trainer John O’Shea would wish with the approach of the rich Sydney and Melbourne Autumn carnivals.

The run of success began at Canterbury on Friday night when the debutant Marsupial took out the Two-Year-Old Maiden with a performance that indicated he was a youngster with the potential to be a contender at Stakes-level in coming weeks.

“He’s certainly shown us he’s a colt with something to offer and it was good to see him produce it on the night,” O’Shea said.

Marsupial was ridden by James Doyle who also guided the impressive filly Gridelin to victory in the Benchmark 67 Handicap while Bryneich (Brenton Avdulla) won the Benchmark 70 Handicap, bringing up a stable treble at Canterbury.

“It’s great to see the team firing at this time of the year and, as always, the credit is due to the entire staff at Osborne Park and Crown Lodge,” O’Shea said.

Also on Friday night, Raptor (John O’Shea/Craig Williams) won at Cranbourne in Victoria while Ladder (John O’Shea/Jeff Penza) was successful on debut at Newcastle on Saturday and Eusebio scored for O’Shea and Avdulla at Wyong on Sunday.