Magic Man Moreira's shot at Melbourne Cup redemption
If you love a redemption story, then Joao Moreira is the jockey for you on Tuesday.
When it comes to sins, Moreira’s is rather vanilla, depending on your outlook on life. It does not involve sex, drugs or rock ’n’ roll. For punters, it’s far more egregious than that – a poor Melbourne Cup ride.
Moreira is known in the racing world as “the Magic Man” but there was no ace up the sleeve last year aboard the well-fancied runner-up Soulcombe.
Joao Moreira has the ride on Melbourne Cup favourite Buckaroo.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Instead of following the winner Without A Fight into clean air, Moreira zigzagged up the Flemington straight like an impatient driver changing lanes in peak-hour traffic only to realise the best move was to stay the course.
Twelve months on, Moreira gets the opportunity to atone, as fate would have it, for the same trainer and many of the same owners on cup favourite Buckaroo. There is a tinge of irony that Moreira will again be sporting the navy blue and pale yellow colours of prolific owners Ozzie Kheir and John O’Neill.
Last year, they made the eleventh hour call to switch to Moreira in the hope the change of jockey would fix Soulcombe’s habit of missing the start, only to realise in hindsight they should have stuck with Craig Williams, who had developed a strong relationship in their lead-up runs.
This year, the understanding Moreira built on the Chris Waller-trained Buckaroo was a major factor in him keeping the ride.
Joao Moreira on Buckaroo (closest) was narrowly beaten by Via Sistina in the Turnbull Stakes.Credit: Getty Images
“We made a call to take Craig off because we thought Joao would be better suited,” O’Neill said. “As documented clearly, you’ve taken off a guy who has ridden in a heap of Melbourne Cups and put on a guy that probably hadn’t.
“We’re all about that affiliation. Trainers know jockeys’ associations with horses better than we do. They’re with the horses all the time, they’re riding work with them. The owners, as a group, were really happy to stick with Chris’ wishes and stick with Joao. He’s a world-class rider.”
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Rival trainer Wayne Hawkes was brutal in his assessment of Moreira’s ride on Soulcombe, saying on SEN the day after the 2023 Melbourne Cup that the horse “should’ve won by a minute” and that Moreira “will never, ever forget this race as long as he lives”. The stinging critique was perhaps in part to get a rise out of O’Neill, a co-panellist on the show.
“It’s easy to say and do from the stands,” O’Neill said on Thursday. “The jocks, all of them, they want to win, they want the joy and success, they’re elite sports people.
“Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don’t. That’s just life. I’m pretty philosophical about that stuff. Even the world-class riders don’t get it right 10 times out of 10.”
Forgiveness comes quicker for owners and trainers when they’re dealing with a jockey the calibre of Moreira, whom Waller rates among the top 10 hoops in the world.
“I don’t tend to look too far back,” Waller said. “Joao’s a magic jockey, that’s why he’s been nicknamed the Magic Man. Whether it’s Craig, Joao, James McDonald, Mark Zahra, Kerrin McEvoy there’s a clear top 10 in my opinion. If you’ve got one of them it’s a big coup.”
At the helm of one of the biggest training operations in the country, Waller does not have time to dwell on disappointment. Nor does the jet-setting Moreira, who has ridden in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and his home nation Brazil.
Last year was last year, and Waller now has as good a chance as any to add to the Melbourne Cup he won in 2021 with Verry Ellegant, while Moreira – who finished 12th on Japanese favourite Ascoli Piceno in Sydney’s Golden Eagle on Saturday – is still searching for his first win in the 3200-metre staying test.
Buckaroo is his best chance to break his duck. In a field experts believe is one of the weakest in many years, the former European galloper has won at group 1 weight-for-age level this campaign, came within a whisker of beating runaway Cox Plate champion Via Sistina in the Turnbull Stakes before a fast-finishing second in the Caulfield Cup.
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Moreira’s record in the race would be the envy of most of his peers. From five rides, he has twice finished second and a fourth. As a comparison, the great Frankie Dettori managed two seconds and a fourth from 17 attempts.
“International jockeys, this day and age, are very adaptable,” Waller said. “Even the likes of Frankie Dettori, who hasn’t won the race, I’d have him at the click of my fingers. They are serious jockeys, the top 10 in the world. They’re top 10 for a reason.
“I think there’s a part of Joao who would love to win the Melbourne Cup, and he’s a competitive jockey, but Joao wouldn’t be looking back on things.
“Joao would be only looking forward. I respect that. There’s only one tick, it’s this year’s race. If he ticks the box he’ll be smiley Joao.”
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