Photo: Simon Merritt
New Zealand-bred gelding Hemlock Stone (Dalghar) defied $81 odds to score a stunning come-from-behind victory in the A$1 million Gr.2 Perth Cup (2400m) at Ascot on New Year’s Day.
The Dalghar gelding is trained by Grant and Alana Williams for syndicator Belhus Racing, and he was bought for just A$11,000 from Book 2 of the 2021 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale. His 21-race career has now produced seven wins, four placings and A$765,990 in stakes.
Hemlock Stone was a late starter, beginning his career as a spring four-year-old with a fourth placing over 1300m at Northam in August of 2023. He was a maiden winner at the second time of asking later that month, then added another two wins through the remainder of that campaign.
He showed promise as the Williams team increased his distances this season, winning over 1600m at Belmont in August and adding a pair of 2200m victories at Belmont and Ascot in September and November. But his form tapered off with an 11th in a 2100m Rating 66+, fourth in the Listed GA Towton Cup (2200m) and a last-start seventh in the Listed ATA Stakes (2200m) on December 18.
Hemlock Stone headed into Wednesday’s time-honoured Ascot feature well under the radar, but none of that mattered when top Perth jockey Patrick Carbery was legged aboard.
After settling in second-last among a 15-horse field, Carbery angled Hemlock Stone to the outside and let him rip down the straight. He charged home out wide on the track, bounding to the front in tandem with Diamond Scene at the 100m mark.
That pair had the finish all to themselves, with Hemlock Stone overpowering his rival in the last few strides and pulling ahead to win by half a length.
“He may have been 80 to one, but he doesn’t know what price he is,” Carbery said. “When I decided to take this ride, I thought that if anyone could get a horse primed for going the long trip on Cup Day, Grant and Alana were the ones to do it.
“The horse settled really well for me, which he hasn’t always done in his previous races. I gave him a couple of digs around the 1400m and I knew we were a chance of running right into it.
“They came out under him and gave him a couple of bumps coming around the corner, but to his credit, the further he went, the better he went. He hit the line hard and was all grit.”
Hemlock Stone delivered a career highlight for Belhus Racing owner Peter Morley.
“This is 30 years in the making,” he said. “I’ve lost my voice, so I can’t say too much, but I really can’t tell you how this feels. It’s just the best.
“I remember being interviewed when this horse won at Belmont during the winter, and I said that day that we were going to dare to dream of winning the Perth Cup. Here we are today, so how about that?
“All of these lovely owners are involved in this horse. They’re a very special crew, and some of these people have been with me for 25 years.”
Grant Williams admitted that Hemlock Stone’s heroics took him by surprise.
“I actually wanted to put this bloke out, but decided to run him after having a really good chat with Pete,” he said. “Even in my pre-race comments to the owners today, I just told them to be excited that they had a runner in the Perth Cup. I wished them good luck and was just hoping more than anything.
“I thought our other horse (Casino Seventeen) was running into the race well, but then I looked and saw Hemlock go straight past him. I went, ‘Wowee!’
“I wasn’t sure if he’d be up to this race today, but in the straight he looked the way he did when he was coming up through the grades. He had a full head of steam.
“It’s actually blown me away, but how good is this? It’s an amazing result for Belhus Racing and Pete, who have done so much for Perth racing. It’s so good to see all the people he brings into racing, and there’s a lot of first-time owners in this group.”
Hemlock Stone was bred by Neven Botica’s Botsky Pty Ltd and became the fifth stakes winner for his sire Dalghar, who stands for a service fee of just $2,000 at Brighthill Farm. His other stakes winners – Scott Base, Buoyant, Astara and Amusez Moi – all recorded their black-type successes over distances ranging from 1200m to 1600m.
The dam of Hemlock Stone is the unraced Savabeel mare Spiritual, who is the dam of two winners from three foals to race. Hemlock Stone’s four-year-old half-sister Ishkur (by Bull Point) is also based in Western Australia and has so far recorded two wins and a placing from a seven-start career.
Spiritual produced the once-raced Spiritart (by Flying Artie) in 2021, followed by colts by Time To Reign and Barbaric born in 2022 and 2024 respectively.
