3 minute read
Son of former Darley shuttler shines in Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
The Joseph O'Brien-trained Twilight Payment (7 g ex Dream On Buddy by Oasis Dream) handed former Darley shuttler Teofilo (Galileo) with his second winner of the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) in three years as he led from pillar to post in the famous race to become the stallion's 21st elite level winner.
The seven-year-old gelding was quick out of the barriers and ridden straight to the lead by Jye McNeil and proved too hard to catch, with Tiger Moth (Galileo) - who is trained by Joseph's father Aidan - running a good race to finish a quarter of a length adrift in second.
The Charlie Fellowes-trained Prince Of Arran (Shirocco) kept his extraordinarily consistent record in the Group 1 intact as he motored home to finish another neck away in third, having occupied that same position in 2018, while he finished second in the race last year.
There was a sad postscript to the race with Anthony Van Dyck (Galileo) having to be put down after he fractured a fetlock in the straight.
Joseph O'Brien, who was winning the race for the second time having saddled Rekindling (High Chaparral) to win the 2017 edition of the Group 1, said he was quick to heap praise on McNeil, who produced a masterclass in the Group 1.
"Jye gave the horse a fantastic ride," said McNeil. "All credit goes to the team of lads we have down there in Australia for the last month or so. They have done a fantastic job with the horses down there, they have all run with credit. This is the icing on the cake for them.
"This was his first year with a full preparation with us. He came to us halfway through last season. He ran a couple of huge races at the Curragh. I was a little bit worried today he might have got a little bit of pressure for the lead a bit more than what we had hoped but the horse has got an incredible heart and Jye gave him a fantastic ride and he kept fighting all the way to the line."
O'Brien was quick to pay tribute to Lloyd and Nick Williams, who were winning the Group 1 for the seventh time and also owned O'Brien's first Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling.
"I can't thank Lloyd and Nick Williams enough for everything they do for me. They are both incredible and this is a fantastic result for them also.
"I am hugely privileged to train for the people I train for and the horses that we have. I really appreciate the support and the success when it comes, but it is a tough game as everybody knows, and it is a very fine line from the top to the bottom and we are very appreciative."
Bred by Jim Bolger - with whom he began his career with, Twilight Payment was sold to Kerr and Co for €200,000 at the 2018 Goffs Ireland Horses in Training Sale.
The gelding is out of dual winning Oasis Dream (Green Desert) mare Dream On Buddy, making him a half-brother to stakes-placed Bandiuc Eile (New Approach), who will be offered in foal to Profitable (Invincible Spirit) by Boherguy Stud at next month's Tattersalls December Mare Sale as Lot 1618.
Dream On Buddy herself is a daughter of Listed winner My Renee (Kris S), making her a half-sister to Ribblesdale Stakes (Gr 2, 1m2f) winner Banimpire (Holy Roman Emperor).
The gelding's fourth dam is Group 1 winner Detroit (Riverman), who in turn produced Group 1 winner Carnegie (Sadler's Wells), Group 2 winner Antisaar (Northern Dancer), Group 3 scorer Lake Erie (Kings Lake) and Listed winner Honfleur (Sadler's Wells).
Detroit is also the grandam of Group 3-winning trio Osalia (Danehill Dancer), Dawn Wall (Fastnet Rock) and Obama Rule (Danehill Dancer).
This is the second son of Teofilo to win a Melbourne Cup with his son Cross Counter having taken out the race in the 2018, while Twilight Payment is one of four stakes winners bred on the Teofilo / Oasis Dream cross and he is the second Group 1 winner joining Tawkeel.
Juddmonte Farms' Oasis Dream is carving out a good reputation as a broodmare sire, with his daughters producing 56 stakes winners and Twilight Payment becomes the fifth Group 1 winner out of a daughter of the son of Green Desert (Danzig) and that also includes last month's Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner Sir Dragonet (Camelot), who finished sixth in Tuesday's race.
Teofilo himself has enjoyed a purple patch of top-flight winners in the past month, with Twilight Payment joining recent Group 1-winning pair Gear Up and Subjectivist, who both landed Group 1s in the space of a month and were both also bred by Bolger.
The son of Galileo stood in Australia for six seasons and he now stands exclusively at Darley's Kildangan Stud base, where his fee in 2020 was advertised as €40,000. His Group 1-winning progeny includes Kermadec, who is himself the sire of dual Group 1 winner Montefilia.
