Deakin claims a Melbourne Cup spot after his Flemington success

It was October 2022 that Deakin made his race debut, a 1600m maiden contest at Killarney. Most of his racing in Ireland came on soft ground, waiting until his fifth start before saluting for the first time in a Roscommon maiden when fitted with headgear.

Cheekpieces worked initially, winning a Thurles handicap after Roscommon to close out his three-year-old season. He was a close second on his first 2024 start to Crystal Black who was planning a trip to Australia last year for the Melbourne Cup before an infection ruled him out.

Royal Ascot proved too much for Deakin where the quick track didn’t look to suit. It is interesting then that he has done so well on good tracks in Australia. His runs in Europe suggest that he won’t mind what the weather does at Flemington in November now that he has proven himself on good ground as well as on a softer surface.

Progressive since arriving in Australia

It is now three wins in five starts for Deakin since arriving in Australia with a very strong Euorpean rating of 97. He settled in quicker than some European imports do, saluting on just his second start which came at Pakenham just before Christmas. That was over 2000m but he has improved every time he has been given more of a stamina test since.

He won a Listed race at Moonee Valley on his most recent start. That was an interesting success as he had looked in need of a more galloping track in most of his racing but he coped well to being almost always on the turn.

That was a 2500m contest, upped to 2600m at Flemington to win on Saturday. The further he went at Moonee Valley the stronger he looked so the step up to 3200m in time has the potential to see him in an even better light.

Deakin wins the Lexus Roy Higgins

It was a big decision for Philip Stokes to send the horse to Flemington. The Adelaide Cup was under serious consideration which would have been a home race for Stokes. In the end, it has proven to be the right decision to send his stayer to Melbourne.

Having not run for a month, Daniel Stackhouse had a job on his hands to get the horse to drop his head and settle in the early stages. It ended up a proper battle to see off Berkshire Breeze in second.

Being fresh early could easily have stopped Deakin being able to dig deep late on in the day but his heart in a fight is a huge plus. The front pair pulled miles clear of the third which should prove to be a good sign for the future.

Berkshire Breeze was one of the most progressive stayers last season so he was the right horse in form terms to chase Deakin home. There is another bigger step up in both class and distance if Deakin is to become a genuine Melbourne Cup chance but he looks the type to bridge it.

Summary

There is still a long way to go until November but Deakin laid down a strong marker for a Melbourne Cup bid this weekend. The betting sites were impressed and rightly so with his win coming despite him being too fresh.