Imported star Sir Delius has rocketed to the top of Melbourne Cup betting after a commanding victory in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington.

Ridden by Craig Williams, the $7 chance overcame a wide draw and traffic in the run to score by 1¾ lengths over Antino ($9.50), with favourite Via Sistina ($2.60) a neck away in third.

The five-year-old, purchased for $2.7 million by clients of the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable, has now won three of his four Australian starts — two at Group 1 level.

“He’s put on condition. He’s relaxed more and whatever he runs in, they’re going to have to beat him,” Waterhouse said. “He’s a most exciting horse.”

Williams praised the teamwork behind the victory, saying, “In Group 1 races, you don’t think you can win like that, but we were very confident he could do it.”

With 55.5kg in the Melbourne Cup, Williams believes Sir Delius “owns everything he does” and is peaking at the right time.