Racing: Former rivals create Cup history

Champion jockey Michael Walker celebrates after riding Pentane to victory in the Auckland Cup at Ellerslie yesterday. Sandra Mu / Getty Images

Jockey Michael Walker thought he'd never ride for Lance O'Sullivan if he became a trainer.

Yesterday the pair created history when they combined to score a dramatic win in the $600,000 Auckland Cup.

In Walker's first year of riding, O'Sullivan, a champion jockey at the time, and the youngster were severely reprimanded for elbowing each other during a race at Taupo.

"Never did I imagine I'd be winning for Lance," said Walker after sprinting Pentane past the opposition with a brilliant burst from the 400m.

O'Sullivan, despite the excitement of the greatest moment of his two-season training career, remembered the Taupo moment.

"Actually we were in the [judicial] room a few times for similar things."

Racing is only for the tough and O'Sullivan identifies in Walker that ice-cold determination to win.

"He's a fierce competitor - I knew he hated losing as much as I did."

O'Sullivan rode more winners than any previous New Zealand jockey, but none gave him more satisfaction than this.

"When you ride a winner of a big race like this you get on the horse two weeks before - when you're training you've got the horse from day one."

If winners are grinners, O'Sullivan was almost in fits of laughter.

He couldn't help but reflect on how everything, and that means everything, had gone to plan for Pentane, even down to the track drying out after overnight rain and the predicted afternoon showers staying away.

"Yes, I was worried about the track for him when it rained last night and that came right.

"The only time he's been unplaced was on a wet track.

"You know, I never had one hiccup. Even with the tracks to work on - when we needed a good plough there was always one there."

One champion jockey to another, O'Sullivan was reluctant to weigh Walker down with too many instructions yesterday.

"All I said to Michael was: you might be flat [under pressure] at the 400m, but he'll keep going. He always keeps going and the last part of his race will be the best."

Hong Kong-based Frenchman Olivier Doleuze looked certain to win when he shot Zabeat three lengths clear at the 320m, but Pentane arrived with such a sprint you could tell 120m out when he was still one and a half lengths away, that he would swamp the leader.

Doleuze, a great showman, was hyper even though beaten into second.

O'Sullivan said from his vantage point he picked up the colours of Zarius before Pentane's.

"Emotional" was how O'Sullivan described the moment.

"When Charliehorse finished third in the Derby here on Saturday I was so excited you'd have thought I'd won."

The A$5 million Melbourne Cup is the logical next step for a horse with Pentane's talent. The Matamata trainer was not fazed by the subject when it was mentioned.

Auckland Cup

$600,000, 3200m

2-2 Pentane (9) 53 M. Walker 1

7-8 Zabeat (4) 54.5 O. Doleuze 2

1-1 Zarius (10) 53 L. Cropp 3

Sht nk, 3-1/4L, 1-1/2L. Time: 3:21.52.

Win: $5.25. Places: $2.30, $4.35, $1.95.

Quinella: $41.40. Trifecta: $235.05.

Trainer: Lance O'Sullivan, Matamata.