It’s not often you see a runner from the Chris Waller stable go around at 50/1 odds, but 6yo gelding Valiant King (GB) produced an outstanding effort to win Saturday’s $350,000 Group 3 VRC Bart Cummings (2520m) at Flemington, securing himself a run in this year’s $10m Gr1 VRC Melbourne Cup (3200m).
Winless in his ten prior starts in Australia, with his best being a third placed effort in the Group 2 ATC Chairman’s Quality (2600m), it is interesting to note that the grey son of Roaring Lion (USA) has contested the past two running’s of the Group 1 MRC Caulfield Cup, finishing sixth and ninth, and last year was beaten five and a half lengths in the Melbourne Cup when finishing 13th.
Racing in the silks of H M The King, the Ciaron Maher trained Gilded Water (GB) (Fastnet Rock) started the short-priced favourite off some solid recent form with jockey Jamie Melham taking him to the front in an attempt to lead throughout.
Racing keenly, and at one stage seven lengths clear of the field, the query would always be if Gilded Water could sustain that speed for the entirety of the race.
Still six lengths clear as the field headed into the home straight, it wasn’t until the 400m mark that Melham asked Gilded Water for an effort where he battled strongly.
Trainer Paul Preusker, who had used this race in 2019 to secure a Melbourne Cup start for Surprise Baby (NZ) (Shocking) with his gelding finishing fifth, beaten less than a length, had outsider Torranzino (NZ) (Tarzino) look a live chance ever so fleetingly as he commenced to chase down the leader.
But it wasn’t to for Preusker as Waller’s Valiant King under Melbourne Cup winning jockey Jye McNeil came charging from back in the field, looking like an odds on chance as he sprinted to the line to score by two and three quarter lengths from the Celine Gaudray ridden Torranzino.
Holding on for third was the race favourite Gilded Water, just ahead of Dan O’Sullivan’s Berkeley Square (Territories) who finished fourth.
The hectic tempo put on by Gilded Water saw Valiant King record a time of 2.36.21 min, just .55 seconds outside Let’s Make A Deal’s 2015 course record.
Going into the race, the stable were concerned with the fact Valiant King had only had one start since his Chairman’s Quality placing in Arpil.
“Fitness was our biggest concern which is why he held a nomination in the Turnbull as well as this,” Duckworth said.
“He was much better suited to this in terms of grade and also distance.
“We were really unlucky to miss the Sydney Cup in the autumn when he had a minor foot issue leading into it and we just thought he was primed and ready to go, but hey, it will be much better to win a Melbourne Cup than a Sydney Cup.”
As the field headed into the Flemington straight, McNeil felt he was too far back to be able to run down Gilded Water,
“I thought we had a big task ahead of us,” McNeil said.
“I was able to get in that three-wide line following Mark Zahra (on Berkshire Breeze), and you know when you find the back of a good jockey like that you're going to be taken to the right places.
“Even when I straightened and he quickened so well, I still thought we were too far off the leader, but he reeled it in really well and it was great to be on him.”
Having won the 2020 Melbourne Cup on the Aidan O’Brien trained Twilight Payment (IRE), McNeil was hoping to continue his association with Valiant King.
“He'll run well anyway,” McNeil said.
“I've won that race once before, so you never know.”
Taking his overall record to two wins and five placed efforts from 18 starts and earnings of $572,632, Valiant King has been allocated 51kgs in both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups, just half a kilo more than he carried in both last year.
Firming into equal fourth favourite for the Melbourne Cup at the odds of 15/1, Valiant King was bred by The Assembly Partnership and is the first stakes winner out of the Candy Ride mare Assembly, herself a half-sister to Listed winner Seismic Wave and to the dam of Group 3 winner Verbal.
From the extended family to Champion Sire Danehill, Valiant King is one of eight stakes winners for Roaring Lion, the 2018 European Horse of the Year who recorded four Group 1 victories including the Eclipse Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes.
Roaring Lion only covered one book of mares in Europe before shuttling to New Zealand’s Cambridge Stud where he was unfortunately euthanised after a serious bout of colic.
