The Offer has given his rivals a staying lesson by producing a four length win in the Group 1 Sydney Cup at Randwick last Saturday.
Gelded this season, The Offer has gone from strength to strength and went into the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m) after clinical Manion Cup (2400m) and Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) successes.
Meeting a number of the same rivals from the Chairman’s Handicap on better weight terms, The Offer looked poised to claim a third straight win.
Things went to plan perfectly in the early stages with jockey Tommy Berry settling The Offer marginally better than midfield as outsider Angola led them around.
The Offer travelled well throughout although there were some minor concerns rounding the home turn as the–year-old was shuffled back as rivals fanned wide.
Berry remained patient aboard the son of Montjeu however and on straightening quickly went about moving The Offer off heels into clear running.
Racegoers were witness to a special display of staying prowess from there as The Offer cruised past a tiring Tremec in claiming a four length victory.
Chris Waller-trained import Opinion came out of the pack to claim second with Sertorius battling home fairly for third.
The staying lesson The Offer produced yielded the five-year-old a new master Timeform figure of 122.
It came in two pounds clear of his Chairman’s Handicap (2600m) success.
From a historical view of the Sydney Cup, his victory came in above the event’s prior five-year winning average.
Latest renewals of the Sydney Cup have been claimed by seasoned stayers such as Mourayan, Niwot and Stand To Gain.
While nothing can be taken away from their respective Sydney Cup successes, the likelihood of seeing them build upon those winning efforts in later staying tests was always slim.
The Offer is one of the more exciting Sydney Cup winners of the past two decades.
The Gai Waterhouse-trained import has won the autumn staying feature by a decisive margin and attracted a strong Timeform figure in the process.
Only a five-year-old and very lightly raced, there is still room for improvement.
Not since the 2004 renewal was claimed by Makybe Diva has a Sydney Cup attracted so much attention and respect from a Melbourne Cup perspective later in the year.
Makybe Diva of course became just the second horse ever to claim the Sydney Cup – Melbourne Cup double in a calendar year, joining Carbine who achieved the feat in 1890.
The Offer last Saturday became part of another select group with only Marooned in 1986 having previously claimed the Manion Cup-Chairman’s Handicap-Sydney Cup treble.
After winning her first Melbourne Cup with Fiorente earlier this season, Gai Waterhouse may have found the horse she needs to claim consecutive renewals of the race that stops a nation.
