A nine member Stanhope based syndicate paid a record amount for Melbourne Cup favourite Vauban at a record breaking Kyabram Club Calcutta on Monday evening.
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Bidding on the much talked about stayer opened at $5000 and three syndicates were involved in a spirited contest which saw the horse eventually sold for $7600.
That was a major influence on the record pool, which topped $50,000 for the first time in the long history of the event.
There were 12,925 $2 calcutta tickets sold in the lead up to the event as more than a dozen regular syndicates bought up big in the hope of drawing at least one of the 24 starters.
Members of the Wallenjoe syndicate, which started in its original form four decades ago in Stanhope, drew four horses from the 1500 tickets they purchased in the calcutta.
Members of the syndicate are Daryl Harrison, Graeme Nurse, Joey Leocata, Wayne Hansford, John Cockroft, Craig Emmett, Tom Auld, Dwight Weeks and Rob Vigilaturo.
They not only drew Vauban, but also Japanese raider Breakup (which they sold for $3500), one of the five Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained starters Ashrun (which they paid $1800 for) and former winner Vow And Declare (which they sold for $1900).
Under syndicate rules the drawer of a horse receives half of what is paid for the horse during the auction.
They also only pay half of the winning bid for the horse.
So, this is how the Wallenjoe syndicate ended up: $3000 outlay on tickets, $3800 Vauban purchase and $1800 Ashrun purchase for a total outlay of $8600.
They received $2700 in return for the two horses they sold, which made it a $5900 spend on the night.
Daryl Harrison said the syndicate had $3300 in the kitty from last year and spent $3000 of that on calcutta tickets (the rest on the evening’s refreshments).
“Drawing the favourite was a cherry on top. Two years ago we bought Incentivise and got back a little bit more than our money,” he said.
“The syndicate has been going for 40 years. It was started by Ian Haw and several other Stanhope stalwarts.
“This is a new incarnation, but still has a strong Stanhope flavour.”
Harrison was playing golf with his son on the morning of the cup, but said the syndicate would reconvene at a location yet to be decided if they picked up the major prize.
“We were prepared to go to $7500 for Vauban, but Joey got excited and went $7600,” he said.
But unfortunately for the syndicate, Vauban, the Irish raider, never seriously looked a winning contender and weakened in the straight to finish 14th, more than 13 lengths adrift of the winner.
Last year’s winner, Gold Trip, was drawn by the OTP syndicate, and went for $6240, while Without A Fight was drawn by Noel Fleming, who duly sold the horse for $4600 and a net $2300 profit.
Those who paid that $4600 were smiling come 3.15pm yesterday as Without A Fight powered away to score a famous victory for the father and son combination of Anthony and Sam Freedman.
The purchase netted a first prize of $30,375, with Kyabram Club manager Greg Ryan saying the figure was a new record and up five per cent on last year.
Other horses to create significant interest were eventual runner-up Soulcombe ($3500, bought by the well known Panel Beaters syndicate) and Absurde ($3100, drawn and bought by the Billy and Billy syndicate).
The total pool of $50,625 included a second prize of $10,125, third prize of $5063 and fourth prize is $2531.
Last year’s winning syndicate, the Weuss syndicate, was there again this year, but didn’t draw a horse after pocketing $28,740 for an $1100 investment last year.
They will, however, have a runner after they paid $700 for Sheraz, who ran a terrific third at bolter’s odds.
Ashrun rounded out the top four.
The energetic Panel Beaters syndicate also bought Military Mission.
Long time syndicate, The Mongrels, didn’t draw a horse and didn’t buy a starter.
Three horses shared the lowest amount paid for a horse, of $700, being Virtuous Circle, True Marvel and Sheraz.
“I can’t believe what the pool reached. It is amazing.
“I thought surely we won’t beat last year,” Mr Ryan said, saying the Kyabram event continued to build on its reputation as one of the richest country Melbourne Cup calcuttas in the state.
“I’d be amazed if anything was as strong as this,” he said
Kyabram Club board member Mark Schumann did the form and McConnell First National’s Brendan McConnell was again responsible for the auctioneering.
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