Gallant Boy’s Melbourne Cup Day Hat-trick

By Jonny Turner

Gallant Boy pulled off a Makybe Diva style milestone when completing a hat-trick of wins in the feature sprint at Wingatui on Melbourne Cup day.

The Brian and Shane Anderton trained veteran got made it yet another winning season on the track when kicking off his 10-year-old season with an emphatic 1400m victory for rider Rahul Beeharry.

The victory brought up career win number 14 for Gallant Boy (Gallant Guru-Mega Babe-Personal Escort) and gave him the incredible record of having won in each of the seven racing seasons.

Gallant Boy is effectively a showcase for one of Melbourne Cups great Bart Cummings' training theories.

Cummings famously said patience was one of the cheapest things, but often the least used.

"Time has been a great thing for Gallant Boy," Brian Anderton said. 

"When he was younger he had a few wee problems, like locking stifles and things like that."

"But he has overcome that and he is a real racehorse now."

"We have just had to be patient with him, time has been a great thing for him."

Carrying 59kgs, Gallant Boy jumped well for Beeharry, who eventually found a nice spot in the one-one.

The White Robe Lodge star cruised up to the leaders on the home turn before going on for the most comfortable of victories by a long neck over Quintuple Twins.

With Gallant Boy at the top of the South Island handicaps, the search is on for a suitable next start for him.

The Anderton camp is leaning towards lining the veteran up over 1400m Cromwell Cup Day before targeting the Timaru Cup.

While Gallant Boy was out adding another win to his family's record, his full brother Patrick Erin was basking in the North Taieri sun.

The Anderton stable has retired the group 1 winning 9yr-old and he has already found a new job.

Patrick Erin (Gallant Guru-Mega Babe-Personal Escort) has been tasked with keeping an eye on the next crop of White Robe Lodge stars and is the 'elder statesman' in a paddock full of young horses.

Plans to continue the star stayer's career were abandoned earlier in the spring after he did not quite come up to the Anderton's satisfaction.

So, the decision was made to retire Patrick Erin.

"He just didn't quite come up how we would have liked and something was bothering him in behind," Brian Anderton said.

"He deserves a good retirement and he will get it here."

"He is doing a good job looking after the young ones."

Patrick Erin retires the winner of 11 of his 42 starts with earnings of $778,253.

Undoubtedly the biggest moment of the popular galloper's career came when he won the A$470,000 group 1 Metropolitan at Randwick in 2018.

The White Robe Lodge racing team enjoyed strong results across the Wingatui card.

Direct Flight (Ghibellines-Preferred Flight-Raise The Flag) was denied by just a half head when second in maiden company over 1400m.

Phyllite (Gallant Guru-Enzed-Anziyan) also ran a nice second behind Choux In over 1200m.

A run of seconds continued when Cabernet continued her excellent recent form when second in rating 74 company over 1200m.

It was appropriate that resident star staying sire Raise The Flag got in on the action on the day of Australasia's great staying race.

Ray's In Command (Raise The Flag-Kay's Command-Towkay) made it successive Melbourne Cup Day wins when scoring in rating 74 company over 1600m for trainer Terry Kennedy and rider Chris Johnson.

The 5yr-old won over the same distance when breaking his maiden at last year's Melbourne Cup Day meeting.

Ray's In Command is raced by his breeders, Stephen Grant and Fred King.