Mighty Mighty Lonhro

[Fradam]

Lets me start off by saying that I'm a person that tends not to rate Sydney horses highly. They win all the group ones up there which is all well and good but the biggest 4 races of the year are in Melbourne and not many from up north win. Tie The Knot was a classic example.

Might and Power was a great horse who did well down here, Octagonal was another and today Lonhro joined them.

I had my money on his nose and with 200 metres to go he was gone but he fought and won.

What a champion

[Donny]

Yes Fradam. Same here.

Blocked for a run but utilised the long Flemingtoion straight like a true champ. A truly inspirational effort.
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Tears as Lonhro lands $1m bet

By Mike Hedge - Fox

LONHRO stormed home to win the Australian Cup at Flemington today, landing a million-dollar bet in the process.

An unidentified punter bet $1 million on Lonhro last week – believed to be the biggest single bet on a horse in Australia in the past 20 years.

The punter collected $1.55 million, a profit of $550,000, but it looked in grave doubt with 200m to go.

Lonhro was badly checked when he tried to get out of a pocket, and had to pick himself up to win in the last stride.

At Albert Park 24 hours earlier a sea of scarlet greeted a champion.

Across town at Flemington today it was the same in cerise.

But there the comparisons between this weekend's two big Melbourne races ended.

For a start no one shed a tear over a Ferrari at the Grand Prix. At Flemington it seemed that anyone who had anything to do with Australia's greatest racehorse was crying.

For a lot of reasons the win struck a deep chord with all the connections.

John Hawkes, the sometimes abrasive, always professional trainer couldn't hold back, his son Wayne who handles Lonhro's preparation in Melbourne was the same but the emotion was apparent most of all in his owner Bob Ingham.

Ingham wouldn't be able to count the number of races his famous cerise colours have won, but today he separated two from the thousands.

"When this horse's father Octagonal won the Australian Cup I thought it was one of the greatest things I had ever seen," Ingham said.

"Octagonal, he was our first champion and he ranks number one, but I think this fella is better."

When Octagonal won the Australian Cup in 1997 it was Ingham's brother Jack who led the cheering while Bob stayed home in Sydney with the chooks.

"I wasn't coming here today but my wife talked me into it and I am glad she did," he said.

For Ingham the only negative was that his brother couldn't be with him.

Jack Ingham died last year, breaking up the greatest partnership in the history of Australian horse racing.

"We were mates for 75 years," said Ingham as the tears welled up in his eyes.

"He had a soft spot for this horse, but then he had a soft spot for all of them.

The Australian Cup was Lonhro's last race in Melbourne, the big horse will continue his career in Sydney before being retired to Woodlands Stud to join his father Octagonal after the Sydney Easter carnival.