A horse formerly under the ownership of His Majesty The King has provided its new connections with a significant cause for celebration at Flemington.
“I’ve been off the drink for eight years, but I’m back on it tonight.”
Part-owner John O’Neill exclaimed these words after Point Of Law, whose ownership group features Rupert Legh and former AFL star Chris Judd, claimed victory in the Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday.
This victory marks O’Neill’s second Melbourne Cup win, having previously been involved with Verry Elleegant during the COVID-restricted 2021 race. His record in the event also includes three second placings.
One of those runner-up finishes was with Marmelo in 2018, where Cross Counter managed to run down the European-trained galloper late in the contest.
O’Neill experienced a moment of déjà vu while observing Point Of Law on Tuesday, as jockey Ethan Brown delivered a ride strikingly similar to that past performance.
“I could see him weaving through on the fence,” O’Neill stated.
“A number of years ago, Hugh Bowman rode a horse for us called Marmelo and it did exactly the same thing.
“We were up the top screaming our heads off because we thought we were home, until Cross Counter came down the outside and beat us.
“This time I didn’t do any yelling until about 10 metres from the line.”
Point Of Law was acquired from the UK by Ciaron Maher’s Head Of Bloodstock, Will Bourne.
The Northern Hemisphere-bred three-year-old colt was initially raced by His Majesty The King before Bourne finalised a purchase agreement.
“Will Bourne travels all around the world trying to buy these horses and Ciaron spent a lot of time over in Europe and had his Mum with him and built a relationship with The King,” O’Neill shared.
“We thought The King was going to race this horse with us, but I don’t think legally he was able to do that.
“While he has missed out, I’m sure he will be very happy, and at the end of the day, we have a great relationship with Ciaron.”
O’Neill expressed his happiness for Bourne, who dedicates substantial time to sourcing international staying prospects.
“He works so hard trying to buy these horses and it’s not easy,” O’Neill remarked.
“From a Melbourne Cup perspective, there are so many rules and regulations, vetting procedures that you have to go through, and you have to be buying horses that are almost perfect.
“We lost Saint George last week because of the CT scans, but it’s great for the race, it’s a safe race and it provides a wonderful spectacle.
“We feel very privileged to race with Ciaron and I’m really excited for Ethan Brown.
“He’s a great supporter of ours personally, rides all of our horses when he can.
“He had a really bad injury and for him to come back and win the Cup is incredible.”
O’Neill’s extensive experience in racing has led him to trust his trainer implicitly.
When questioned about whether Point Of Law’s Cup campaign was affected by the colt running off the track at Werribee, O’Neill confirmed that Maher wasn’t overly stressed by the incident.
“The horse seems to have this enormous aerobic capacity,” O’Neill noted.
“We’ve been lucky to have been here a lot. It’s hard to win this race, and we’re going to celebrate like we never have before.
“I’ve been off the drink for eight years, but I’m back on it tonight.”
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