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'The best 30-1 shot I'll ride in a group 1': Etah proves Boss right
Big-race ace Glen Boss, forever the optimist, turned to trainer Ciaron Maher on Saturday morning and said: "This will be the best 30-1 shot I ride in a group 1 race.''
That horse, Etah James, started at $15 but otherwise responded accordingly for Boss as the pair won the Sydney Cup from The Chosen One ($19) and Raheen House ($6.50), who flattened stablemate Mustajeer at the top of the straight to cling to third.
Glen Boss kicks clear on Etah James in the Sydney Cup.Credit: Getty
English import Young Rascal, who started the $2.90 favourite, failed to see out the two miles to finish seventh.
Boss was actually worried about trying to beat Young Rascal before the race but got the best out of Etah James, who had not been sighted for five weeks since her fourth in the Auckland Cup.
"Full credit to Ciaron and his team because he's had had her just long enough to put a bit of polish on her,'' said Boss, whose mount was only transferred from trainer Mark Lupton to the Maher and Harry Eustace stable last month.
"I’ve been riding her work and I trialled her here in a very fast trial [on March 31] and I said, 'this is flying, this thing'.
"Her work on Tuesday was exceptional, actually.
"I wasn’t expecting to beat the English horse [Young Rascal] to be very honest, but I was expecting to run one, two or three.
"When I saw that most of them were off the bridle and chasing at the 600m, I thought with the lightweight I’m going to run very well. That last 400m felt like an eternity, because we were going so slow.''
The Cup field took almost a dawdling 39 seconds to run their last 600m as The Chosen One surged for a second time late but fell just short of seven-year-old Etah James.
Boss last won the Cup 16 years ago on champion-staying mare Makybe Diva.
"We've got to give a lot of credit to [trainers] Matt Cumani and Mark Lupton, in the circumstances we are in, we were just fortunate to be sent her from New Zealand," stable representative Annabel Neasham said.
"The target was always this race and then the Brisbane Cup. That’s the reason we ended up with her. Logistically it suited her to come to Sydney. They’ve done most of the work with her. We’ve only had her in the stables for about a month.
"It’s always handy coming into these two-mile races when you know they can run the trip. We left it up to Bossy really. She’s normally reasonably handy in the run. It looked like they went a nice tempo early and he just got her into a lovely spot.
"Bossy is definitely on fire today.''
Angel Of Truth started to apply the pressure to the leaders at the 800m, which forced Young Rascal to commence his run early.
But Young Rascal's jockey, Tom Marquand, told stewards afterwards he was off the bit a long way out from home.
"He also wasn't that comfortable on the ground and he didn't feel like the horse I had the other day [when winning the Manion Cup at Rosehill],'' Marquand told the stewards.