By Michael Lynch
It's Melbourne Cup week, the holiest of holies on the Australian racing calendar.
It's the week where legends are made, reputations established and tales, tall and occasionally true, are told. It's four days, with eight group 1 races, a week when the cream rises to the top and the big battalions, gilded owners and star jockeys are expected to dominate.
That's how it usually goes, but not this year. Sure, plutocrat Lloyd Willliams was to the fore in the biggest contest of all, the Melbourne Cup, scoring a history-making fifth win with his German import Almandin.
And James Cummings, the fourth generation of the Cummings family, added further lustre to the lore and mystique of the family name when he succeeded his great grandfather, grandfather and father in winning the Victoria Derby.
Jockey Stephen Baster poses with trainers Troy Corstens and Leon Corstens.Credit: Vince Caligiuri
But it was also a week when the lesser lights got their chance to savour the glory and emotion of group 1 success on the biggest stage of all – something that not even the might and money of Godolphin or the strength in depth of Chris Waller's record-breaking Sydney stable could achieve over the four days.
Men like Shane Nichols, from Mornington via Yarra Glen and Newcastle's Kris Lees took out the Myer Classic and Cantala Stakes on Derby Day. Lee Curtis, from Sydney, caused the biggest boilover of all when his unconsidered filly Lasqueti Spirit led all the way to win the Oaks at 100-1 after an inspired ride by Brenton Avdulla.
And while the likes of Peter and Manny Gelagotis, the brothers from Moe, and the father and son team of Leon and Troy Corstens are hardly strangers to city success, they are not household names either.
But that didn't stop them from taking centre stage on the carnival's final day when they took out the two group 1 contests that were the highlights, the Darley Classic and the Emirates Stakes, respectively.
The Gelagotis boys, whose family chicken shop is nowadays perhaps the best known takeaway in Gippsland, are well-known knockabout figures at the track. But their reputation for liking a laugh and a good time should not obscure their horsemanship and their ability to condition, prepare and set a galloper for a big race and deliver the goods.
The duo have scored at group 1 level before with Mourinho, and did so again on Saturday with high quality sprinter Malaguerra, who scored in the Darley Classic at $9.50 under Ben Melham.
Peter Gelagotis has only had this horse a short time after the owners decided to transfer him from Lee Freedman, but Malaguerra is obviously enjoying life down in Gippsland as he took the group 1 at only his second start this preparation.
"This is massive for a stable like ours," Manny Gelagotis said. "This horse has had a few trainers, and we really appreciate the previous work done with him. He's a horse with a lot of quirks but his application to succeed was enormous."
The other good news story of the day concerned the Corstens family, who were winning a group 1 race together for the first time.
In March they thought they had climbed that mountain when Awesome Rock scored in the Australian Cup, a time honoured race over the famous Flemington 2000 metres.
But Chris Waller, the trainer of runner-up Preferment that day and his jockey, Hugh Bowman, protested, and the latter's linguistic skills proved as convincing as his talents in the saddle as stewards threw out Awesome Rock and gave the prize to Preferment.
This, then, a victory in a $2 million race, was wonderful compensation. Emotions ran high as they saluted Stephen Baster and Awesome Rock as they returned to scale, Troy (the younger Corstens) embracing his father Leon in tearful celebration.
"It's my first group 1 ... to do it with dad is amazing," he said. "Not a lot of people get to spend a lot of time with their dad, but I get to spend six or seven hours a day with him, and as quirky as he is, he's a champion."
So was Awesome Rock. And Malaguerra. And all those who wrote their names into the history books in this year's Cup carnival.