‘And it was not just us guys who were excited; our wives and girlfriends had jumped on board too. They were hooked! We celebrated long and hard, and it was great meeting a lot of the other owners, most of whom were also celebrating their first city winner.’
This was including Darren Lonsdale, who was grateful to his co-owners for letting him, as a first-time owner, accept the trophy.
‘Just accepting that was like winning the Melbourne Cup,’ he joked.
Sam Brown well remembers something Michelle Payne said that day, something so stunning he thought he had misheard her: ‘This is probably the best horse I have ridden.’
It was not so long ago that the congratulations to owners came pretty much to an end once they’d left the racetrack. But now social media keeps the excitement going, and Andrew Wilson enjoyed watching the ongoing discussions of his horse’s big win.
‘Well done Michelle! I listened from Hong Kong, excited and happy. Go The Prince!’ Michael Wilson said on Twitter.
‘Massive win, good job Michelle Payne, tough horse,’ said former jockey Sam Hyland.
And Michelle replied, ‘He’s pretty good, horses just don’t do that … Melbourne Cup horse.’
At the time the Group One Queensland Derby, contested over 2400 metres at sunny Eagle Farm in June, was on the radar, but Darren was expressing concerns.
‘He couldn’t race like that in a Queensland Derby and expect to run well,’ he said. ‘He has got the ability, but I am not sure he has got the mental attitude yet.’
A decision of whether or not Prince Of Penzance would head north was, however, made for them, the horse pulling up sore after the Flemington run. Surgery was required, Prince Of Penzance having to make what would be the first of four trips to the Ballarat Veterinary Practice’s Equine Clinic.
‘After the excitement of his first city win we were brought back to earth pretty quickly,’ Sam Brown said. ‘The rollercoaster emotions of horse racing … we knew we had a talented horse, but we were worried that he may not come back the same.’
On 14 May, Prince Of Penzance went under the knife of Dr Brian Anderson, who removed from his off fore fetlock an osteochondral fragment, better known as a bone chip. It was arthroscopic surgery, often referred to as keyhole surgery.
Typically, a rest period of three to four months is recommended. While Prince Of Penzance was recuperating plans were being made for him to undertake his future training at Warrnambool, where access to sand and water would help him in his comeback.
In the meantime his owners had watched as his form was tested at stakes level for the first time, when Wowee, who had finished tenth behind Prince Of Penzance at Flemington, at her next start won the Group Three South Australian Oaks at Morphettville.
Chapter Three
The First Comeback
Seven months after his first operation, having trialled nicely at Camperdown with Michelle aboard, Prince Of Penzance resumed in a 1410-metre contest at Flemington.
It was not an easy race for Michelle. Prince Of Penzance was caught wide throughout, finishing an unspectacular but solid seventh. The winner of the race was Sistine Demon, who Michelle had ridden to Donald and Moonee Valley victories at her two previous starts.
She’d had the choice of rides — she chose her boy.
And while on the day it must’ve hurt a little, her decision was quickly endorsed, Prince Of Penzance two weeks later stepping up to 1600 metres at Moonee Valley where, as favourite, he recorded his fourth and easiest win to date.
Joining in at the turn from midfield, Prince Of Penzance quickly rounded up his rivals, racing away by 2 3/4 lengths.
‘Prince Of Penzance is coming on very strongly,’ called the course broadcaster. ‘Here comes the Prince, he said see you later boys!’
‘He tracked into the race beautifully,’ Michelle Payne reported, ‘and he really hit the line well.’
‘He is a really nice progressive sort of horse,’ said Darren Weir, telling reporters that summer features, such as the Mornington Cup, were on the agenda.
Deane Lester, on the following morning’s Correct Weight show on RSN radio, said that ‘probably the most impressive winner of the day was Prince Of Penzance’.
Beaten but hardly disgraced when second as equal favourite over 1720 metres at his next start at Flemington, Prince Of Penzance got well back off a slow start, finishing off nicely.
Next came Prince Of Penzance’s first crack at a stakes race, the Listed Mornington Cup Prelude that in previous years had been run as the Victoria Gold Cup.
Contested over 2000 metres at Caulfield, the race attracted a field of eleven, with the Gai Waterhouse trained Laidback Larry, who had won four in a row, a hot odds-on favourite.
Prince Of Penzance’s owners were excited, though brought back to earth a little when in the race before his the lightly raced filly Kiss A Rose collapsed and died in the mounting yard, most likely from heart failure.
‘We just thought about those owners,’ Sam Brown said, ‘how shattering it was, how much grief they must have been feeling. My motto had always been to celebrate every win like it is your last. You never know what is around the corner in this game.’
Settling around midfield along the rails in the $120,000 race, Prince Of Penzance was at times a little keen, with the favourite getting his own way in front. There is a danger, in slowly run races, of horses getting caught up in the ruck, but Michelle had her horse sliding away from the fence in plenty of time.
Approaching the turn Prince Of Penzance was putting himself into the race, and a vocal group of owners watching from the mounting yard began to scream, ‘Go Prince, c’mon Prince, this is your chance!’
At the 300 metres he was third, with Oregon Spirit on his outside who for a few strides appeared to be travelling a little better. At the 200 metres the pair began to draw clear. For a hundred exciting, nail-biting metres it was a battle between two determined horses.
But it was Prince Of Penzance who most wanted the win. From the 100 metres he got away from his rivals, and as he crossed the line a 3/4 length in front, racegoers got a taste of how this horse’s owners could celebrate … loudly and enthusiastically!
‘A Listed win — we thought that was the achievement of a horse’s lifetime,’ enthused Andrew Broadfoot.
Michelle was beaming, her faith in the horse justified. ‘Right from the start he showed me that he had above-average ability, and he just keeps showing it at every start.’
‘He won in good fashion,’ Darren Weir said. ‘He is starting to put it together now. He did a few things wrong, but he is not over-racing as badly as he used to. He has had a couple of runs at 2000 metres now and won them both. Hopefully when he gets to a mile and a half he will be even better.’
Prince Of Penzance’s owners celebrated that night, their pride and joy was now a stakes winner. Sam Brown remembers being out late with Arthur Rickard and Darren Lonsdale, trophy in hand.
‘After a few bottles of red in celebration we sent Arthur home in the back of the taxi with the trophy. We laughed so hard when a message came in the next morning from the Weir stable; “Does anyone know the whereabouts of the trophy?”’
The next morning Prince Of Penzance was discussed on RSN radio, again on the Correct Weight show. ‘He is a beauty,’ said Warren Huntly, ‘it was a terrific win from a really promising horse.’ Deane Lester agreed, noting that ‘he is a young up-and-comer who looks as though the further he goes the better he will be’.
A couple of options awaited Prince Of Penzance: the Mornington Cup