Speaking before the race, Keys dismissed his horse’s previous flop at Flemington, saying he had been caught out by two horses turning the mile into a speed battle which neither could win.
He said it was a “bit disappointing because Al Passem has been running pretty well of late but no horse could win asked to run the way they did the other day”.
“Coming out of his first mile this prep, I can’t say whether it has improved him but as a horse so far this time in he has been fantastic and we expect him to position himself somewhere in the first couple and to run it out well,” he said.
“I really am confident, he is of this level and the handicap brings him right back into it.”
Others also saw it that way as he had been available at 15/1 earlier in the day but was backed down to 10/1 by the time he reached the gate – and at $9.50 when the starter let them go.
But most punters still wanted the Japanese horse A Shin Rook, which jumped at $2.80. Superstar jockey Craig Williams came up from Melbourne with the favourite his only ride for the day. Williams had won a Kilmore Cup before – but that was 23 years ago.
As soon as they jumped Al Passem ended up exactly where Keys planned – somewhere in the first four. He just might not have expected he would be the first of that foursome.
But 200m into the 1600m journey the hot pink of Al Passem’s silks shone brightly at the head of the field.
By the 1200m Jye McNeil made no effort to stop Manolo Blahniq, coming across from gate 13, taking up the running. At the same time A Shin Rook was patiently sitting midfield.
Turning into the straight there was the expected rush of horses, with Al Passem quickly shuffled back to fourth or fifth.
At the 200m McNeil got Al Passem into some clear air but even as he urged him forward the favourite also hit top gear and was flying down the outside, with Heptagon, ridden by Zac Spain, streaking up the inside, hugging the running rail.
But McNeil urged a final effort to win by a head, with Heptagon a long neck away in third.
A Shin Rook was given every opportunity by Williams, but the international just did not have enough to even put a nose in front when it counted.
It was El Passem’s first win this prep (and his first since July 2018) and took his career prize money to $399,650.
A delighted Keys said his horse “got the ride we have been dreaming of”.
He said Al Passem had been branded as a mad leader but he wasn’t.
“He’s an on-pacer, and sometimes they get a bit confused about that,” Keys added.
“But today he came out, he got cover and he travelled on-pace at his tempo and it was a fantastic race,” he said.
“It’s a real thrill to win a big country cup, especially for the owners, it’s fantastic.”
Now Keys has his eyes on taking the five-year-old gelding back to town – maybe for a stakes race.
“If we were to get this type of race he would be thereabouts but we would have to get everything to go our way.”
It might have been Al Passem’s first win this campaign, but Keys celebrated feature success earlier in the spring with Soul Patch, which won the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase on Cox Plate Day.
Soul Patch also finished third in the Group 1 Victoria Derby, on the same day stablemate Spanish Reef finished third in the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes.
Flemington was also a happy hunting ground for McNeil, who celebrated his first Group 1 aboard Kings Will Dream in the Turnbull Stakes, and he was delighted to round off a big few months with a win for Keys.
“Kenny’s been a great supporter of mine so it’s good to combine with a nice win here today,” he said.
“I thought it was a good training performance as well, because he had that tough run at Flemington over the Carnival and Kenny’s obviously freshened him up nicely for this run today and he toughed it out nicely.”
