Twilight Payment notches another one for Irish and Teofilo

Sent to the front by jockey Jye McNeil in a bold front-running ride, Twilight Payment (who could not do the same front-racing performance in last year's Cup) displayed a gutsy effort to defeat a more favoured Irish bred galloper Tiger Moth, neither gelding having previously raced in Australia this campaign.

By Tiger Moth's Irish bred iconic staying sire Galileo, Teofilo also sired English trained Cross Counter, winner of the 2018 Melbourne Cup.

Amazingly, Twilight Payment - while Australian owned, became the second Melbourne Cup winner prepared by young Irish conditioner Joseph O'Brien, following his victory with Rekindling, a son of Irish bred High Chaparral, who is by the great Sadler's Wells - also sire of staying great Galileo.

Third was the GB foaled Prince Of Arran (but German breeding by Monsun's Shirocco), who kept his extraordinarily consistent record in the Cup when he stormed home to finish off another neck away, also finishing third in 2018, while grabbing second last year.

Interestingly Twilight Payment was produced from Dream On Buddy, a daughter of Oasis Dream (by Danzig's Green Desert), also damsire of last month's W S Cox Plate-G1 winner Sir Dragonet (Camelot), the stallion finishing sixth in the Cup.

By Savabeel, New Zealand bred The Chosen One finished fourth, while Pierro's four-year-old son Persan - one of only three Australian bred horses in the great race, was a fabulous fifth.

Twilight Payment's sire, Teofilo, shuttled to stand at Godolphin's "Kelvinside", Aberdeen, for six Australian stud seasons intermittently from 2009, but has since been stud bound at its Irish property Kildangan Stud and now commanding 40,000 Euros service fee.

Two Teofilo sire sons are available to breeders in Australia, Godolphin's $2.9 million track-earner, Kermadec (sire of first crop three-year-old Group 1 winning and placed filly Montefilia), and dual Group 1 winner Palentino (at Sun Stud, Victoria), which has his first juveniles racing this season.

MELBOURNE Cup day races footnote: Hawkesbury trainer Ethne Potowski (in last week's Thoroughbreds) was proved correct, when her only galloper at present, Happy Hustler, finally broke through at Canberra, winning his second race at his 35th start.

FIRST crop two-year-old sires Star Turn, Extreme Choice, Mikki Isle, and Odyssey Moon have all opened their sire's records with winners recently.

It was a perfect start for the stud career of Snitzel stallion Odyssey Moon when his daughter Berdini's Miss won on debut at the Sunshine Coast for her sire's first starter, followed by a solid second at Doomben last Saturday.

That race was won by first starter Miss Hipstar, a bay daughter of chestnut stallion Star Turn, which cost her owners $150,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. The dual Sydney Group winning son of Star Witness, Star Turn stands at Vinery Stud, Scone.

Standing at Olly and Amber Tate's Twin Hills at Cootamundra, Odyssey Moon was a Group 1 placed winner of the VRC Standish Handicap-G3 at Flemington.

Winning four races when racing against the best company, Odyssey Moon only had 34 foals among his first crop, Berdini Miss included.

Berdini's Girl sold to her trainer Chris Munce for $35,000 at this year's Inglis Classic Yearling Sale via the Murphy family owned and operated Sledmere Stud, Scone.

Another sire to have his first juvenile winner on debut at the Sunshine Coast was Mikki Isle, a Japanese bred Deep Impact stallion which spent the three previous seasons at Arrowfield Stud, Scone. His winner was Oriental Princess who became Mikki Isle's first Australian-bred winner.

A champion sprinter/miler in his home country, Mikki Isle has already sired at least five winners including a Group 2 winner in Japan. Not A Single Doubt stallion, Extreme Choice - which stands at Newgate Farm, Aberdeen, emerged with a Saturday double when two-year-olds Palamos won at Te Rapa in New Zealand, followed by debutant Tiger Of Malay which won at Randwick.