Dour stayer Reddivo underlined his toughness with a “gut-busting” victory at Warrnambool which has virtually assured him a start in the prestigious Jericho Cup in November.
Through driving rain on an almost bottomless track, the eight-year-old rallied multiple times under a crushing 68.5kg in the most challenging conditions to prevail in a two-horse battle which a racing.com commentator likened to the famous Bonecrusher and Our Waverley Star dual in the 1986 Cox Plate.
A dominant favourite after his last start mammoth 12-length win at the track, Reddivo ($1.95) and Matthew Mark ($6) went head and head over the final 400 metres of the Hire Australia BM70 Highweight (3100m).
Jockey Will Gordon first coerced Reddivo with the whip in his left hand around the home turn, then switched the right entering the straight trying to fend off the challenger.
Then, in a moment of desperation 100 metres from home, Will changed the whip again to his left hand and Reddivo raised one last effort in the closing stages to score by a long neck.
Reddivo is a stable favourite, and the victory was all the sweeter for trainer Jamie Edwards’ wife and the gelding’s part-owner Janet who was celebrating her 60th birthday.
Reddivo was courageous in tough conditions and Jamie said the son of Redwood would not run again for four or five weeks.
“It was a gut-busting run,” Jamie said.
“I thought he was beaten four times down the straight, but he just kept putting his head out.”
He said Will Gordon’s decision to change whip hands in the closing stages was a game changer.
“I think we probably had the best jockey,” Jamie said, but Will Gordon shifted the credit across to Reddivo.
“It was a super tough effort from the horse,” Will said.
“He really toughed it out late and out toughed the other horse.
“I was just asking him as much as he could do, and he was giving me as much as he could and he got there.”
Reddivo has now won two qualifying races for the Jericho and set him up nicely for the feature over 4600 metres on November 29.