Trainer Brian Ellison’s Melbourne mission with Onesmoothoperator remains firmly on course after the gelding’s impressive win in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (2500m) on Friday.
The seven-year-old, whose main target is the Melbourne Cup, produced a stirring finish under Mark Zahra to score first-up in Australia for the second consecutive year.
Ellison originally intended to chase back-to-back Group 3 Geelong Cup (2400m) titles, but poor weather prompted a change of plans, and it proved the right call.
Starting as the $4.20 favourite, Onesmoothoperator came from well off the speed to beat Athabascan ($20) by three-quarters of a length, with Scary ($14) another head away in third.
“I thought we had a bit to do at one stage, but when he pulled him out, he picked up well,” Ellison said.
“I know he’s got a great turn of foot, you just can’t ride him handy, you have to ride him for luck. He gave him a great ride.”
“We needed a gallop on, and there was plenty of gallop on. I thought ‘are we in trouble here’ but when he got him rolling… he’ll improve for the run as well.”
The Geelong Cup winner from 2023 ran 12th in last year’s Melbourne Cup but Ellison is optimistic about a stronger showing this time around.
“I just want ten days with no dramas like we did last year, like we’ve had before, and he’ll run well at Flemington,” Ellison said.
“I’m not sure he’s going to win it because it’s a really hot race, but he won’t disgrace himself.”
“He goes for his bone scan tomorrow again, and hopefully, he comes out of that alright. He got vetted this morning, he got vetted two days ago, everything’s good.”
Carrying 52kg in the Melbourne Cup, Onesmoothoperator could be penalised after his latest success. With Mark Zahra locked in for Al Riffa, Ellison has booked Caulfield Cup–winning jockey Harry Coffey to ride at Flemington, where the horse has tightened to $11.
Those looking to back Onesmoothoperator in the Melbourne Cup can explore top odds from major Australian betting sites such as Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, and TAB.
