Hemlock Stone Rocks In Perth Cup

Long shot gives Williams a fifth win in WA's Jan 1 curtain raiser

- Racing WA

Three-time Perth Cup winning jockey Patrick Carbery admitted he was not sure what to expect from Hemlock Stone in the latest edition of the staying feature at Ascot on Jan 1.

Hemlock Stone scored an upset in the A$1 million (S$845,000) 2,400m feature sponsored by TABtouch to deliver trainers Grant and Alana Williams a fifth win in the past seven editions of the race.

The Dalghar five-year-old was sent out one of the rank outsiders at 80-1 ($153 on the Singapore Pools tote) for the Group 2 event, but saved his best performance when it mattered most to outlast the more fancied Diamond Scene (Clint Johnston-Porter).

Carbery, who won the Cup aboard Lotilla Bay in 2001 and Midnight Blue in 2022, rode the gelding for the first time in the time-honoured race and said he was glad he put it all together at the right time.

"His last run wasn't terrible, but he still had to elevate quite a bit," Carbery told TABradio.

"Doing his video form going into the race I thought I was on a quirky horse.