At least one member of the O’Leary clan woke with a clear head following the outstanding effort of Who Shot Thebarman in Tuesday’s Gr.1 Melbourne Cup.
The New Zealand-bred and owned stayer proudly flew the Kiwi flag at Flemington to finish third behind the German raider Protectionist and the English warrior Red Cadeaux.
Dan O’Leary shares in the ownership of Who Shot Thebarman with his brothers Humphrey, Michael and Shaun and said the cup was a memorable one and celebrations understandably went on late into the night.
“To be honest, I was a bit exhausted. We had a good group of people and went out for a nice meal and a few of them kicked on, but I didn’t.”
O’Leary said Who Shot Thebarman had done their family and New Zealand proud with his gallant effort in the face of stern international competition.
“It’s a truly world class race and by running third he’s qualified himself for next year so we have that to think about in the future.
“He pulled a back shoe after the race, but to my eye he looked very good and he was full of running on the line. It was fantastic to see him competing at that level.”
A White Robe Lodge-bred son of Yamanin Vital, Who Shot Thebarman collected $A450,000 for his cup placing and both trainer Chris Waller and jockey Glen Boss believe the best is yet to come from the gelding.
“I think Who Shot Thebarman will be a better horse next year,” Waller said.
“He’s still a young horse and mentally he is still learning so for him to run third was a great effort.’’
Boss agreed with Waller’s opinion of Who Shot Thebarman, who has won half of his 16 starts.
“Next year he will be a serious contender,’’ Boss said. “He has run a super race, but he is a horse who is just starting to find his rhythm – he’s just starting to mature.
“Chris and his owners will have a lot of fun with this horse.’’
– NZ Racing Desk
