Bois D’Argent upsets competition in Doomben Cup

Annabel Neasham-trained gelding Bois D’Argent has won the 2024 Doomben Cup. At $26 odds, the seven-year-old gelding was one of the biggest underdogs heading into the $1 million, 2000m, Group One race at Doomben racecourse in Ascot.  
 
Bois D’Argent is the second Neasham-trained horse to win the Doomben Cup after Zaaki won the marquee weight-for-age contest in 2021.  
 
New Endeavour ($11) finished second with Fawkner Park ($13) coming in third place. 

Bois D’Argent wins over the odds 

Jockey Blake Shinn and seven-year-old gelding Bois D’Argent entered the Group 1 Doomben Cup as massive upsets. Only two of the 14 horses racing on Saturday had longer odds than the gelding’s $26 entering the race. From the jump, Blake Shinn and Bois D’Argent showed these odds were off.  
 
Bois D’Argent stayed with the pack throughout, before then taking an early lead down the stretch over several horses with better odds than himself. With 300m left, Bois D’Argent had a substantial lead over the competition.  
 
New Endeavour ($11) and Fawkner Park ($13) both narrowly closed the gap on Bois D’Argent in the final 250m. The gelding fought off the competition, winning narrowly over New Endeavour in second and Fawkner Park in third.   
 
The win for Bois D’Argent was his first in 12 months, after winning the Listed Lord Mayor’s Cup in May 2023 at Rosehill.   

Neasham not surprised by big win 

Bois D’Argent is the second horse trained by Annabel Neasham to win the Group 1 Doomben Cup. The legendary Zaaki won the $1 million race back in 2021. According to Neasham, it wasn’t surprising that Bois D’Argent won on Saturday, despite the odds.  
 
“He was the one I was saying was well over the odds,” the trainer said after the race. 
 
“You just pick back through his form and he’s no worse than the rest of these, than the best horses in this field. 
 
“He was fourth in a Caulfield Cup. He was a bit unlucky in the Tancred, it didn’t really work out for him that day, but he ran really well,” Neasham said.  
 
The trainer was also keen to praise Bois D’Argent’s jockey Blake Shinn.  
 
“New Endeavour certainly kept us honest to the line, it was a flashback to last week. It was a small margin but a margin none the less. 
 
“I’m just so happy for the team, they’ve done a great job to get four horses here and they looked to have run really well. I’m so delighted,” said Neasham. 

Neasham speaks on other horses 

Bois D’Argent was not the only Neasham-trained horse to defy the horse racing betting odds on Saturday. Fawkner Park ($13) also put in a strong race at the Doomben Cup, finishing third behind New Endeavour and Bois D’Argent.  
 
Speaking on her horse’s performances, Neasham said “He’s certainly stepped up to the mark and he will probably go to the Q22 now and you’d think he’d be a big player in that after today’s run.” 
 
It wasn’t all positive though. Neasham spoke about her disappointment with eight-year-old gelding Numerian.  
 
“I thought Numerian was a little disappointing, so I will see what Jaimie (Mott) says but I think at this stage they will all press on to there. I even thought Naval College was great, it was a big step up in class for him today as well,” Neasham said.