Romancer hits punters for Six

Romancer, ridden by Lachlan Neindorf, wins the Listed Straight Six at Flemington (Image: Racing Photos)

Apprentice jockey Lachie Neindorf will always remember his first Flemington winner after his mount Romancer won the only Listed race on the day at the odds of $101.

While the runs were coming out wide on the track with the finishing line in sight in the Straight Six (1200m), the 19-year-old sent Romancer up on the inside of them all to leave punters gasping.

“That’s my first winner at Flemington,” Neindorf said. “I’ll take it in a listed race. Gee, he was super.”

Romancer had a length margin on the line over the widest horse in the race I’m Telling Ya ($21) with the early leader Irish Songs ($51) three quarters of a length away third.

The first four for numbers 4, 13, 15 and 2 paid $128,911 on the Victorian TAB.

WATCH: Romancer win the Straight Six

Trainer Grahame Begg was not in as much shock as were punters with the result, but he said even Romancer’s slick work of late did no erase his doubts about his winning chances at 1200 metres.

“Funnily enough, my wife said to me last night ‘I don’t think you’ve ever had a horse go around at 150-1’. I had one early that was a long price but I thought this horse was over the odds,” Begg said.

“He’s got a very good Flemington record but over a bit further.

“One thing he did this time around, we gave him a jump out on Tuesday on the course proper at Caulfield because obviously with the wet weather in the last couple of weeks we’ve been a bit selective on the tracks we’ve been able to work him on.

“He worked very, very well with Sartorial Splendor.

Begg said the rising eight-year-old who has raced 45 times for 10 wins and earnings of more than $680,000, was a pleasure to train.

“He’s a lovely old horse,” he said. “He’s great to do anything with and to get a listed win with him, the owners have been very supportive.

“We put him away over the summer to bring him back for the winter months and it’s great. They’ve had a lot of thrills out of this horse.”

Did he back it? “I think the boss (wife) might have had something on it each-way,” he said.