Boss rides first winner of Melbourne Cup Carnival

Big Race jockey Glen Boss had to wait until Crown Oaks day before riding his first winner of the Melbourne Cup Carnival on Honey Flower in the Listed $150,000 G.H. Mumm Stakes (1100m) at Flemington today.

But Boss was at his best slotting Honey Flower just in behind the pace and doing enough on the mare to hold off the fast finishing Dystopia to get the nod in a tight finish.

“This filly got a bit lost when she got clear. She was going to win by a very clear margin and when she got clear she got completely lost,” Boss said.

“She caught sight of the horse coming on her outside and just gave me a little kick towards the end.”

“She’s a very underestimated filly. She’s got a good record and she’s a really good galloper.”

Boss was very relieved to finally get a winner over the Melbourne Cup Four Day Carnival after getting beaten on Ocean Park in the Group 1 $1m Longines Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) at Flemington last Saturday and only managed to finish fourth on Kelinni in the Group 1 $6m Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m) at Flemington on Tuesday.

Winning trainer Ross McDonald was confident going into today’s race after Koonoomoo who finished second to Honey Flower at Geelong was able to win on Melbourne Cup day.

“After that horse won on Tuesday I thought she was going to be hard to beat here,” McDonald said.

McDonald was happy to get a winner for long time stable client Keith Murphy who prefers to watch the races from home.

“He reckons it’s unlucky when he comes to the races. He’s been a client for about thirty-five years, it’s great for him to win a race on Oaks day,” McDonald said.

Honey Flower carried the famous red and black hoops with white cap worn by McDonald’s top Group 1 winner Weekend Hussler a couple of seasons ago.

Honey Flower started at the good odds of $15 to score by a nose from $6.50 chance Dystopia with Anise ($14) a neck away in third spot.

Favourite Serene Star ($5.50) was never a winning chance and wound up in seventh spot.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.