The former Royal-owned Point Of Law won the Geelong Cup on his Australian debut for Ciaron Maher and Ethan Brown, earning a golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup and moving to the top of the Cup market.
Point Of Law has won the $500,000 Geelong Cup (Group 3, 2400m) on his first start in Australia. The win gives him a golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 3 November, and he went straight to the top of the Cup market.
Ridden by Ethan Brown for Ciaron Maher, the Frankel gelding beat Joseph O'Brien's Small Fry (Kerrin McEvoy) by half a length. O'Brien's Omni Man (Beau Mertens) was another length and a half away third, so the trifecta went to three international horses all racing in Australia for the first time. Berkeley Square ran fourth, ahead of Litzdeel and Soulcombe. The time on a Good track was 2:27.97.
How the race was run
Point Of Law jumped quickly from a wide barrier and raced keenly early. Brown, riding him for the first time, thought about leading. Instead he eased him to sit outside the early leader, The Euphrates. Point Of Law took over at about the 300m and looked vulnerable late as Small Fry closed, but he held on. The Euphrates, the subject of our Geelong Cup preview, faded to 10th after setting the pace.
From the Royal stable to Flemington
Point Of Law was bred by King Charles III and raced in the Royal colours for John and Thady Gosden in England. He won a Newbury maiden over 2000m, ran fourth in the Group 2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot and won the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy (2615m) at Newmarket in July. He was sold to Australian interests in August, and Geelong was only his fifth start.
It was Maher's first Geelong Cup after several near misses. Maher said the horse takes some managing but is settling into his routine, and that the win told the stable a lot about him.
What it means for the Melbourne Cup
Point Of Law was 31st in the Melbourne Cup order of entry and needed to improve to be sure of a start. He is now ballot-exempt. He was weighted at 51kg and can be re-handicapped after this win, so watch for any weight rise when the weights are adjusted.
History is on his side. Media Puzzle (2002), Americain (2010) and Dunaden (2011) all won the Geelong Cup before winning the Melbourne Cup. Small Fry also ran well enough to keep an eye on, if he makes the field.
Our Melbourne Cup horse profiles will be updated after third acceptances on Monday 26 October.
FREE: The 2026 Melbourne Cup Guide – the clues that find Cup winners, our betting plan and the horses to watch.