“After the Golden Eagle, I wanted to cry because we were beaten. Today I want to cry because we won! “

That was the initial reaction of star apprentice Brock Ryan after his masterful ride on local hero Count De Rupee to win the $ 1million The Gong (1600m) at Kembla Grange on Saturday.

But Ryan kept his emotions in check and remained calm and composed in media interviews after the race, just like he did during the race.

There were huge expectations of Ryan during the preparation for The Gong, but the father-son training partnership Robert and Luke Price supported their apprentice to handle the opportunity.

“There was pressure from the media and from the punters, but Robert and Luke didn’t put any pressure on me,” Ryan said.

“Before going out for the Golden Eagle, Robert told me not to look at the (speed) charts, just ride instinctively and get out there and get the job done.

“It was the same today,” he said: “Ride instinctively, back yourself up and back that horse.” Everything went very well today and I had the best horse under me. ”

THE LOCAL HOPE RUPEE ACCOUNT LES BLITZ IN THE GONG AT 1 MILLION DOLLARS! pic.twitter.com/AWxpffxM39

– 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@ 7horseracing) 20 November 2021

Earl De Rupee bounced back from his loss to I’m Thunderstuck in the Golden Eagle to clinch a resounding victory in The Gong, Kembla’s richest race, thanks in large part to Ryan’s nerve-racking run.

Ryan cleared Earl De Rupee’s wide barrier (13) early with a positive and confident push at the start that saw the four-year-old settle in sixth, unique with the race route ahead of s ‘move away to a popular hometown victory.

“Six years ago today, I rode my first winner in Adaminaby at a non-TAB meeting,” Ryan said. “Here we are today winning a million dollar race on my home track.

“It’s a huge thing, especially to win for my bosses, Robert and Luke. They support me a lot and they promote me as much as I can, give me all the opportunities under the sun and it’s so good to capitalize on it. them – and I know he’s a good horse. ”

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Count De Rupee ($ 4.80 equal to the favorite) accelerated brilliantly from the top of the straight, swept over the leaders and walked away to claim the Gong at a quarter-length of Nudge ($ 11) with a head long to Yamazaki ($ 26) third.

Atishu ($ 4.80 equal to the favorite) followed Count De Rupee in the race but was unable to sprint with the winner in the straight line and was only 11th.

As Earl De Rupee crossed the finish line to win The Gong – giving Ryan his third winner of the day after his previous successes on The Guru and Divine Breath – Robert Price hugged his son, Luke.

Brock Ryan with Earl De Rupee’s Coach Robert Price. Image: Getty Images

Ryan might not have let his guard down, but Robert was momentarily overcome with emotion.

“It’s a special moment to share that with Luke’s victory on our home track,” said Robert.

“As for our jockey, it was a great ride from Brock. He just needed someone like our family to support him and he did. ”

Ryan is due out of his time on December 1 and Luke Price is confident the young jockey will have continued success in the senior ranks.

“Brock really ranks in the top 10 runners in Sydney. He took it to another level and he was exceptional, ”said Luke.

“Obviously you need horses to make it happen, but Brock has been there since day one with this horse. He learned it with me and we’ve talked about it for so long, so to him being a part of it means so much.

Brock Ryan rides Earl De Rupee to victory in The Gong. Image: Getty Images

Count De Rupee has allayed concerns about his ability to run a solid 1600m in the Gong, but Robert Price is convinced that the horse’s future lies in sprint races.

“He’s the kind of horse that could be a chance for Everest,” Price said.

“We don’t have to train him like that, but we’ve done a little bit more with him to get him to the Golden Eagle and Gong.

“But it has such brilliant and cool acceleration over 1200m that it is dynamic.”

Luke Price has echoed his father’s thoughts on a long-term plan to place Count De Rupee for Everest next October.

He said Count De Rupee is likely to aim for major Group 1 sprints like the TJ Smith Stakes and All Aged Stakes in the fall to try to secure a place on Everest.

“We will go where the jackpot is and we will look for a ticket to Everest,” said Luke Price.

“When he won the first over 1200m here at the start of his spring campaign, he went half a second faster than Anamoe and we all know how good he is.

“I honestly believe that whatever we ask this horse to do, he will. He’s pretty special.

KEMBLA GRANGE TAB BET REPORT

RACE 5

Favorite fans knew they were in trouble the moment the gates of Race 5 opened and Selburose was the last outside. She was the best supported runner, accounting for 48% of the catch, and narrowed from a first prize of $ 4.20 to start at $ 3.20. Queen Bellissimo, who like Selburose is owned by Gerry Harvey, took advantage of the favorite’s knockout to score a dominant pace at $ 6 after a best price of $ 9.50.

PARIS: Reine Bellissimo $ 1,500 to $ 6.50, $ 2,500 to $ 6, $ 1,900 to $ 6; Selburose $ 3,000 to $ 3.20, $ 2,500 to $ 3.20, $ 2,000 to $ 3.20 THREE TIMES.

RACE 6

Only 20 cents separated Divine Breath and Easy Campese when they jumped into Race 6, but the two fantasies gave contrasting performances with Divine Breath ($ 6.50 to $ 4.80) scoring a complete victory and Easy Campese ( solid at $ 5) one of the disappointments of the race. Although Divine Breath overtook Easy Campese at the top of the bets just before the jump, Easy Campese was still the most popular in terms of taking, responsible for over 33% of the money staked.

PARIS: Divine breath $ 1,151 x $ 1,500 to $ 5 / $ 2.10; Easy Campese $ 2,500 to $ 5, $ 5,200 to $ 4.60; Travest $ 2,000 or $ 8 / $ 2.80

RACE 7 – LA WARRA

Malkovich drew some of the biggest bets held by TAB throughout the entire meeting – including $ 19,700 at $ 2.30 – but he was caught late by Eleven Eleven, which opened $ 9 on Wednesday, fell to 6.50 $ before drifting late to start $ 8. Malkovich, attracted 62% of the trade, opened $ 2.80, reached $ 2.15, slipped back to $ 2.40 before a late flurry of big bets started him at $ 2.30.

PARIS: Eleven Eleven $ 1,500 to $ 8, $ 1,000 EW to $ 8 / $ 2.50; Malkovich $ 19,700 to $ 2.30, $ 7,170 to $ 2.30, $ 5,000 to $ 2.30, $ 3,000 to $ 2.30 FOUR TIMES, $ 2,500 to $ 2.30 FOUR TIMES, 6 $ 000 to $ 2.20, $ 3,000 to $ 2.20.

RACE 8 – LE GONG

Count De Rupee won the Gong at a much higher price than TAB offered on Wednesday, but there was no shortage of happy customers with the local galloper, TAB’s most popular runner. A chance of $ 2.90 on Wednesday, Count De Rupee’s fans had access to $ 5.50 before the race, with the gelding finally starting the favorite at $ 4.60, slightly ahead of Atishu, who started at $ 5 afterwards. that a first prize of $ 12 has been offered.

PARIS: Count $ 4000 to $ 5.50, $ 3000 x $ 2000 to $ 5.50 / $ 2.30, $ 2000 to $ 4.80, $ 5000 to $ 4.60, 2000 $ to $ 4.60, $ 10,000 to $ 4.40, $ 3,000 to $ 4.40, $ 10,000 to $ 4.20, $ 10,000 TO PLACE at $ 2; Atishu $ 2,000 to $ 5.50, $ 2,500 to $ 4.80, $ 5,250 to $ 4.60, $ 2,000 to $ 4.60.

RACE 9

There were some good hits for several runners in Race 9, but they were all turned down by Steely, who was as low as $ 6.50 but started at $ 8. Lackeen, who was the most popular runner with 28% of the trade, started at $ 3.70 as a favorite after opening $ 6.50 with Kingsheir ($ 8 to $ 4.60) and Wheelhouse ($ 6 to $ 4.80) the other bettors have kissed. One bettor had a particularly good result on the winner, with $ 2,700 in payout and $ 1,300 up at $ 9 and $ 3 during the week.

PARIS: Steely $ 2,700 x $ 1,300 to $ 9 / $ 3; Lackeen $ 4,000 to $ 3.80, $ 2,500 x $ 2,652 to $ 3.50 / $ 1.65, $ 4,000 to $ 3.40, $ 3,000 to $ 3.40, $ 2,500 to $ 3.40 TWICE .

RACE 10

Dynamic Impact sent the favorite fans home last, scoring despite a bit of ease before the jump. It was $ 2.30 to $ 2.70 in the 30 minutes before the race, but had been well supported before that and had a chance of $ 6.50 in the initial market (which had 39 cents in deductions). Outside of the favorite, My Demetra was the one with good support, dropping from $ 9.50 to $ 7 before starting at $ 7.50.