Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Slow pace gets the better of Mourilyan

David Thiselton
Trainer Herman Brown was thrilled with the third-placed finish of his charge Mourilyan in Tuesday's Emirates Melbourne Cup won by 10-1 shot Shocking followed by the Godolphin runner, Crime Scene. Ridden by fellow Kwazulu-Natal raised Glyn Schofield, Brown said he believed his charge could have won it with a truer pace.
“ The pace killed us,” said Brown of the race that was run at a crawl with Mourilyan, a five-year-old entire by Desert Prince, lying well back in the early running. “Last year there was a very fast pace set by the Aiden O’Brien horses. If we had got that pace I think he would have won as he stays every inch of the trip and always runs on very well.”
“I knew as they rounded the final bend he would run on strongly,” said Brown.
He was still hopeful of a win as they entered the 450 odd metres of the straight, with Mourilyan still travelling on the bit and the field having concertinaed around the final bend.
Schofield got to work and Mourilyan began carving his way through the field, but it was only at about the 250m mark that he saw daylight and by this stage Shocking and Crime Scene had stolen a march.
Mourilyan ate up the ground in the final 100m as most of the horses on his outside began running out of stamina.
He was the fastest closer, eventually finishing just 2,25 lengths behind Shocking, who was ridden by Corey Brown and is trained by Mark Kavanagh.
“Glyn confirmed the slow pace had cost us and he was also not able to get a run as soon as he had wanted to in the straight,” said Brown. “But I was still very happy with the horse’s race and the ride.”
The third place stake cheque, which was the equivalent of about R2,6million, more than paid for the trip for his two horses.
A hoof problem
Unfortunately, his other traveller, Bankable, first developed a hoof problem before contracting a mild bout of colic and had to be scratched from the Mackinnon Stakes on Saturday.
“But it’s been an incredible experience,” Brown continued. “You cannot believe how big the Melbourne Cup is until you’ve experienced it. Let alone the day itself, the town seems to come to a standstill in the build up. There is saturation coverage on TV, the radio and the newspapers. I had so many phone calls I was eventually forced to turn my phone off and down at the quarantine station, where the overseas horses were based, we must have had 10 to 20 journalists present everyday.”
Brown and Schofield are the second South African pair to compete in the big race.
Former Vodacom Durban July winner, Greys Inn, trained by Mike de Kock and ridden by Weichong Marwing, finished unplaced in 2005. Brown will return tomorrow via Singapore and will be at Turffontein on Saturday to saddle Mahubo for the R1,5million Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup.
Mourilyan and Bankable, who campaigned successfully with Gary Moore from his West Sussex yard in England before leaving for Australia, will shortly be on their way to Dubai where they will begin preparations for next year’s Dubai Carnival.

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