The opposition rode to beat Incentivise in the Caulfield Cup but couldn’t do so as Australia’s newest star won his third-consecutive Group 1 race and extended his winning streak to nine on Saturday.
The Peter Moody-trained Incentivise ($2.30 favourite) was five wide out of the straight the first time under Brett Prebble and settled in third position, before peeling out to join the leaders at the 800-metre mark.
Prebble pushed Incentivise into the lead around the home turn and despite not handling the bend alongside Persan, kicked into another gear in the straight, surging clear for a 3.5-length win.
Nonconfirmist ($9) finished second, with Persan ($31) and Montefilia ($18) filling the top-four positions.
“There’s 17 other jockeys and they’ve all got their opinion how the race is going to run and I was mindful that they weren’t just going to give him a soft lead,” Prebble said.
Incentivise firmed to $5 for the Cox Plate, on the third line of betting behind Zaaki and Anamoe while he remains favourite for the Melbourne Cup at $3.50.
– racing.com
