It was the Caulfield Cup for every battling jockey with a dream as former Kiwi Cory Parish landed a "miracle" win on Boom Time.
There have been plenty of times in the last five years where Parish has struggled to make ends meet but that won't be a problem anymore after winning the $3million Caulfield Cup (2400m).
Most trainers were reluctant to take a punt on Parish when he arrived in Victoria but he put his head down and became a regular fixture for the powerful Lindsay Park team.
David Hayes has shown so much faith in Parish he put him on the Caulfield Cup horse the trainer owns, although most expected Boom Time ($51) to be making up the numbers in the Caulfield Cup.
But Parish and Boom Time made a mockery of that as the horse that Hayes once thought may have had Group III ability surged to hold off the brave Canberra mare Single Gaze ($31) by 1¼ lengths with another head back to Johannes Vermeer ($5 fav) in third.
From a Melbourne Cup point in view, punters were particularly taken with British import Marmelo who ran the quickest closing sectionals, finishing sixth, and he firmed into equal $6.50 Melbourne Cup favouritism.
"It was an excellent performance, right on track for the Melbourne Cup," Marmelo's jockey Hugh Bowman declared.
But the moment was all about Boom Time whose win meant Ben Hayes, who trains in partnership with dad David and Tom Dabernig, became the third-generation Hayes to win a Caulfield Cup.
But it was a real life-changer for Parish, the jockey who struggled to make ends meet and even rode in rodeo and dressage before he came to Australia.
Parish thanked everyone he could think of and singled out Blake Shinn for special mention.
"Blake Shinn has been helping with my style for a little bit, helping me master it so I'd like to help him for helping me out and sticking with me," Parish said.
"I couldn't ask for any more.
"I've been here five years now and David Hayes owns the whole horse and he had the faith to put me on today.
I just wanted to repay him and I've done that.
" It's an amazing thrill. First Group I and for it to be the Caulfield Cup – you beauty."
Hayes is yet to work out the immediate plans for Boom Time but he was savouring his third Caulfield Cup as a trainer and his first as an owner.
He described Boom Time's win as a "miracle'' for a horse that he mostly had thought was probably only up to Group III standard.
"When I had the ownership of this horse it was a pleasure to put Cory on in the Caulfield Cup and reward him for all his hard work," Hayes said.
"What a great horse, tough and backed up off that gutbuster last week and I think that probably won him the race, the good hard run under his belt."
Ben Melham said he was happy with the run of Johannes Vermeer although he ended up further back than he wanted and had to try to "pick and weave" through the field.
Johannes Vermeer firmed from $13 to $9 in Melbourne Cup markets while winner Boom Time was trimmed from $101 to $26.
