The scratching of Maximal from the Caulfield Cup has paved the way for Durston to become the first emergency runner to take out the spring feature.
Left outside the cut-off of 18 when the final field was declared on Wednesday, the connections had to wait until Saturday morning to find out whether the gelding had gained a start.
Giving Michael Dee the biggest win of his career, Durston ($18) scored by a short-neck from Gold Trip ($16) with Knights Order ($16) three-quarters-of-a-length away third.
And Durston’s win gave the Chris Waller stable some solace after favourite Nature Strip had his colours lowered by Victorian sprinter Giga Kick in The Everest at Randwick.
Jo Taylor, the stable foreman for Waller, said it had been a nervous wait on Saturday morning to see if the gelding made the field.
“Even this morning we kept watching, looking at the track rating,” Taylor said.
“We suspected Maximal would come out but if the track had improved too much maybe he wouldn’t.
“He gained a start and at that stage we hoped the track would keep improving and bring a horse like this into the race.
“He’s been in such a rich vein of form, so to see him get this and for all the owners that have stuck with him for so long, it’s just a fantastic result for everyone.”
Durston’s win on Saturday was Waller’s second in the Caulfield Cup in the past three years after Verry Elleegant scored in 2020.
Speaking from Sydney, Waller described the win of Durston and the defeat of Nature Strip as the ‘highs and lows of racing’.
“Nature Strip was great only minutes ago, but we were deflated, but wow what an amazing win in the Caulfield Cup,” Waller said.
“It’s a big deal.
“Durston, he’s a really decent horse. He looked like he needed a bit of luck getting out and he did get out, so a great ride from Michael.
“He was strong the last 50 metres, so it is exciting heading towards the Melbourne Cup.”
Dee said it was difficult to describe the feeling of breaking through to claim one of the Spring majors.
“It’s unbelievable,” Dee said.
“I’ve just got to thank Chris Waller and his team and the horse, Durston. We only gained a run this morning.
“I’m ecstatic.”
Mark Zahra, who partnered Verry Elleegant to victory two years ago, said Gold Trip was brave with his 57.5kg, 2kg more than his nearest rivals.
“We had a beautiful run,” Zahra said.
“The horse did a great job with the weight, and I thought he kicked like a winner, but we were just stiff to get run down by something with no weight right on the line.”