Sabaj reaffirmed his love affair with Melbourne Cup Week with a popular win in Tuesday’s $200,000 Listed Asahi Super Dry Plate at Flemington.
The Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr-trained gelding logged his first win for the year when he got home as $2.60 favourite in the 1800-metre event.
The son of Manhattan Rain was scratched from a Melbourne Cup Day support race to be saved for a race on Champions Day, which he won with Mark Zahra aboard, and the two-time Melbourne Cup winner was back on for the first time since on Tuesday.
“It took me a year to get back on him, they drive a hard bargain there at Price Kent (Racing),” Zahra said with a laugh.
“He’s a beautiful horse, obviously he’s been running in very good races, got back to his grade, or to a drop in grade today, he had every chance, and he was strong in the end.”
Sabaj is back in the winner’s circle, a great Mark Zahra ride! 🥳
@MickPriceRacing @FlemingtonVRC https://t.co/xusLRcGGOi
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 3, 2026
The five-year-old scored his first win since last year’s Cranbourne Cup, which he won the start after his Flemington victory, and lifted his career earnings to $911,645 with his sixth career win.
He scored by a half-neck from the fast-finishing Darkbonee , who was a neck clear of third placegetter Magnaspin ($31).
Tuesday’s win followed unplaced efforts in the Memsie Stakes (1400m), Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (1400m) and Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Group 1 level and Kent said Zahra’s ride, when he squeezed through a tight gap in the straight, was a key part of the win.
“He’s been in three Group Ones where he’s drawn wide and been back and widest every time,” Kent said.
“It got a bit hairy there I must admit but in Zahra we trust and the horse was excellent.”
Sabaj is among the entries for this Saturday’s $3 million Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) ad Kent said a decision on a start there would be made tomorrow morning with a trip to Perth, where the Group 1 Railway Stakes (1600m) and Group 1 Northerly Stakes (1800m), is another option.
