Dyna Double One dazzles in 2015 Melbourne Cup
THE Andrea Dailly-trained Fernando Bale tasted defeat in a Group 1 final for the first time on Friday night when upstaged by star kennel mate Dyna Double One in the $600,000 Melbourne Cup.
Sent to the boxes as the $1.55 favourite, Fernando Bale was searching for his 12th Group race trophy, his ninth at the highest level, with Dyna Double One the second elect at $5.
Starting from box six, Fernando Bale missed the kick but slipped into another gear in the run to the first turn, charging through the pack and cutting down sharply to the rail running through the catching pen.
Meanwhile, Dyna Double One was able to rail through and avoid the trouble around him, slipping straight into second spot behind the champion as they charged into the back straight.
With Fernando Bale leading three lengths to Dyna Double One past the 715 metre boxes, it was the scenario that racing fans had been envisioning for months, with two of the sport's best sprinters going head to head for glory.
Turning for home and Fernando was still in front, but Dyna Double One was closing quick, with the son of Barcia Bale and Crystin Bale gobbling ground to assume the lead in the shadows of the post, scoring by just under half a length in 29.17.
It was the first Group 1 victory for Dyna Double One which has been playing the bridesmaid in a swag of feature races throughout the year. Prior to his success, the black powerhouse had finished in the placings in Group events on six occasions, with no one able to begrudge him the deserved win and $420,000 winner's cheque.
Amazingly, Paul Wheeler has now won 11 Group 1 races this year, as well as four Group 2s and five Group 3s, with a combined total of $1,827,000 in prize money from first place in Group races alone.
The victory also made it the third Melbourne Cup for the Wheeler family within the last five years, following Dyna Tron (2011) and Dyna Villa (2014).
Dyna Double One is now expected to head to Queensland for the heats of the Group 1 Brisbane Cup which kick off this Thursday, with Fernando Bale now heading to heats of the Group 2 Ballarat Cup on Wednesday.
It was a winning night all round for trainer Andrea Dailly, who also took out the Group 1 Bold Trease over the 715 metre trip with Bourbski Fever.
A daughter of Buck Fever and Midnight Movie, Bourbski Fever showed terrific field sense, navigating her way through the pack and storming home down the outside to clinch her maiden win at the highest level in 41.92.
Bourbski Fever, owned in NSW by Jason Lyne and Ross Davidson, has now won seven races from 23 racetrack appearances with just over $130,000 in prize money earnings.
All up, Team Dailly greyhounds won a combined total of $640,000 on Friday night – not too shabby at all.
Watch Dyna Double One scoring a tenacious win in the 2015 Melbourne Cup final.