Brian Ellison's Onesmoothoperator looks to have given himself every chance of lining up in the Melbourne Cup after winning the Group 3 Geelong Cup in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Brian Ellison's stable star was last seen in action finishing fourth behind subsequent Group 1 Fillies & Mares Stakes heroine Kalpana in the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton last month.
Expertly ridden by Australian-based jockey Craig Williams, Onesmoothoperator moved smoothly into contention rounding the bend before powering to the front inside the final furlong. Members of the home contingent set off in hot pursuit, but they could never land a glove on Onesmoothoperator, who went on to score by a commanding two-and-a-quarter lengths from Interpretation. Muramasa finished a further short-neck away in third.
The victory looks almost certain to give Onesmoothoperator the chance to compete in the Melbourne Cup. Brian Ellison's Northumberland Plate hero was number 33 in the Order of Entry into the Melbourne Cup, but it is expected the penalty he will receive will move him within the safety limit of 24 runners.
"I've been here a few times and had a few bits of bad luck, but this horse has been brilliant," Ellison said, who was saddling his winner from sixteen runners on Australian soil.
"He came over and actually put weight on. Mark Brown rides him every day and he's been doing good times, and I just said to Craig (Williams), 'he's not your normal stayer, he's got loads of speed'.
"He's always had a good turn of foot, and it was a great ride."
Ellison has been out of luck in the 'race that stops a nation' over the years with Carte Diamond famously impaling himself on a rail during a gallop at Flemington in preparation for the 2005 Melbourne Cup. Carte Diamond returned the following year but was ruled out by Royal Victoria vets with a tendon injury, while in 2007 Ellison's charge Bay Story, who missed out on a start in the Melbourne Cup by three spots, sadly broke down when contesting a race on the Melbourne Cup undercard.
Onesmoothoperator will be Ellison's first Melbourne Cup runner since Moyenne Corniche and Saptapadi finished 15th and 16th respectively in 2011.
"You've just got to put your head down and keep cracking on," explained the Malton-based handler.
"Everybody has bad luck, so anyway, I know I've got a good horse."
"I would say Carte Diamond had adapted but it was just unlucky with him. He had been going into the Melbourne Cup and was absolutely bouncing after the Caulfield Cup and it's just what happens with these horses sometimes.
"But this horse, he's been bouncing."
Williams, who was winning the Geelong Cup for the sixth time on Wednesday, partnered the French-trained Dunaden to land the Geelong Cup-Melbourne Cup double in 2011.
"I think he's well-placed for this year's race, and that's all you're ever asking for," Williams said.
"He's been on a synthetic track, a very firm track today. He's won on soft, and he runs over long distances, and today he's like riding with cotton wool, the way he was.
"Brian Ellison and his team have done a great job. He's a really fit horse, a healthy horse and I think he's only got improvement to come from him."
Onesmoothoperator carried 54kg on Wednesday and will carry 50kg in the Melbourne Cup before any potential re-handicap.
Bet365 cut the winner to 11/1 for the Melbourne Cup after his Geelong success, with the Aidan O'Brien-trained unbeaten St Leger Stakes winner Jan Brueghel (9/2) heading the market.
