Wayne Hawkes apologises to his fellow Melbournians. As Archedemus approached the final 300 metres at Kembla Grange on Saturday, the trainer let out a loud roar: he knew his gelding would become The Gong champion.
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"He ran really well, he did everything great and I think the jockey [Jay Ford] rode him exceptionally well. He gave him a 12 out of 10 ride," Hawkes told the Mercury.
"I was at home in Melbourne in my bedroom and I yelled from about the 300-metre mark, so hopefully my cheering got him home. Because when I mean 'yell', I really did yell."
After drawing barrier 13, the Hawkes family's Archedemus was considered an outside shot in a strong field to win the second running of the $1 million race.
But the seven-year-old jumped well and was neck-and-neck with Positive Peace approaching the final 400m.
Archedemus then seemed to find another gear, galloping ahead before holding on to win by a short neck from a fast-finishing Dawn Passage, trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, while Kerry Parker's Think It Over was third.
Archedemus is trained by Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes and is owned by Ross Williams' Superhorse syndicate. The gelding was previously under the guidance of Kembla Grange trainer Gwenda Markwell.
Post-race, Ford said Archedemus was in "quite a mood" and got "very stirred up" behind the barriers. There's an old saying in horse racing that all good horses have their quirks.
"The plan was to lead, but when Positive Peace cleared out and he just kind of sat off," Ford said.
"I thought we were reasonably controlled and that's why I turned it up from the 700 and I thought his best chance was if we could get a break on the field. He maintained his gallop all the way and he was brave when Dawn Passage challenged him. I thought Dawn Passage had the momentum so he rallied pretty strongly.
"He has always shown talent from early doors, we just haven't always seen it."
Hawkes agreed that Archedemus had character.
"Let's just say he's got his own mind and imagination. He likes to do what he wants to do," Hawkes said.
"But his runs have been good. He had run second at Hawkesbury in the stage race the start before, so we thought his runs had been pretty good. He wasn't going in as underdog in our stable, that's for sure.
"He's certainly probably the hardest horse that we've trained. It was quite a sweet victory for probably the hardest horse that we've trained to get the job done."
After Saturday's victory, the Hawkes family will now contemplate what happens next for Archedemus. But a well-earned spell is likely for the $1 million winner.
"We will see how he pulls up and probably, at this stage, we'll give him a break and get him back for the autumn," Hawkes said.
"He's done a great job, he's now a million dollar earner. I think he's ticked over the million dollar mark. He's won a million dollars and not many horses can lay claims to that, he's done a terrific job for us that's for sure."