The saying goes that you win one, you lose one, and that was the case with Brereton getting his nose on the line first in the Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) at Flemington.
Brereton was outbobbed on debut in the Listed Debutant Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on October 9 but made amends in the Group 3 race over 1000m to open proceedings on Melbourne Cup Day.
Sent out the $6 equal favourite under Luke Nolen, Brereton scored by a nose from Renosu ($7.50) with Le Gagneur ($19) a further 2-¾ lengths away third.
Trainer Peter Moody was delighted to see Brereton’s number go up in the frame after the close finish.
“He couldn’t get two photos like that go against him, but credit to Rosemont Stud and the Victorian Alliance team,” Moody said.
“They’ve outlayed a lot of money here and sourced these promising young colts for Victorian racing and breeding, ultimately.
“We’ll let the dust settle now, but he is a Magic Millions colt.
“Whether he gets through to something like that or whether we concentrate on the Blue Diamond, we’ll have a chat in the next week or so.”
Nolen took the son of Zoustar to show him the winning post prior to the race which he said can be quite daunting for juveniles.
“Every horse when they come here the first time, or with every two-year-old, I show them the winning post,” Nolen said.
“It is hard to get there in front most of the time but if they get there and have a look and don’t know how to go past it then you’ve only got yourself to blame.
“I always ensure that I give them a look at it. It doesn’t always work but I feel as though it does with the occasion.”