The Melbourne Cup winner holds an unique position in Australian racing, so when Half Yours returns in Saturday’s All Aged Stakes at Randwick, he attracts extra attention.
It has been 30 years since Saintly won the Orr Stakes at his next start after his Cup win, but on a whole the champion stayers prove very competitive at their next appearance.
Tony and Calvin McEvoy opted for a long break with Half Yours after a long demanding campaign to get to his Caulfield and Melbourne Cup wins, and it is the latest a Cup winner has returned in the autumn.
“We have gone for the old Bart or CS [Hayes] approach with him starting at 1400m,” Tony McEvoy said. “We gave him more time because we know that it will be of benefit in the future.
“He is in a position now where he has to race at weight-for-age and take on the best, but he is an elite horse.
“He will start over a trip that is short of his best, and to tell you the truth, he would probably need a wet track to keep up with these sprinters, but it will help him into the preparation and be ready for Queensland.”
During the past 30 years, Melbourne Cup winners have surprised first-up, but real stayers like Makybe Diva, Viewed and Verry Elleegant have used the return to launch a campaign.
Verry Elleegant won second-up at Group 1 level, while Makybe Diva was twice placed second-up while Viewed was fourth in a mile Group 1.
“He has proven he is an elite horse in spring, he finished alongside Via Sistina in the Turnbull Stakes before the Melbourne Cup, and she went on to win another Cox Plate,” McEvoy said.
“The idea with this preparation was to do what is best for the future and have him peaking when he gets to his trip.
“We didn’t want to give him a testing run over more than mile first-up, it would have meant having him back in work earlier and not giving him the break he deserved and needed.
“This run is a building block, like another Cup winners before him and he will bounce from it.
“He is there to run well, but he is taking on Everest horses, and his trip is twice that distance. Realistically, they are probably too quick for him.”
Half Yours won the Melbourne Cup at just his 15th start, and there is a lot more racing left in him. The McEvoys have mapped a program for the year that will see him run in the Hollindale Cup, Doomben Cup and Q22 before a break and a return to a very traditional Melbourne spring.
If he can win the Doomben Cup, Half Yours will certainly be crowned horse of the year, even with the exploits of Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi. He would have won Group 1s at two carnivals, racing in different directions, as well as winning the biggest race on the calendar.
“He’s going to have a really good base by the time he gets to Queensland, and the Doomben Cup is obviously an important race,” McEvoy said.
“We know he is an elite horse now, but by winning a Doomben Cup, it would have him in the running for the horse-of-the-year, which would be another feather in his cap.
“It is clear the path he has to take from now on, and I expect him to step as other Cup winners have done in the past.”
Selected Australian Melbourne Cup winners’ next start
1996 Saintly won Orr Stakes
1997 Might And Power third Orr Stakes
2008 Viewed fourth Apollo Stakes
2012 Green Moon fourth Futurity Stakes
2013 Fiorente won Peter Young Stakes
2019 Vow And Declare third Australian Cup
2021 Verry Elleegant seventh Apollo Stakes
2022 Gold Trip second Peter Young Stakes
2023 Without A Fight third Champions Mile
2025 Half Yours ???? All Aged Stakes
Half Yours Program
All Aged Stakes 1400m Randwick Saturday
Hollindale Stakes 1800m Gold Coast May 9
Doomben Cup 2000m Doomben May 23
Q22 2200m Eagle Farm June 13
SPELL
Makybe Diva Stakes 1600m Flemington September 13
Turnbull Stakes 2000m Flemington October 4
Cox Plate 2040m Flemington October 25
Melbourne Cup 3200m Flemington November 3 (weight dependant)
Japan Cup 2400m Toyko November 29 (possibly)
