A payday to beat them all

[Chief Stipe]

No matter his finishing position, Man Of His Word will land connections their biggest payday in the inaugural All-Star Mile at Flemington tomorrow.

With prize money of A$5 million on offer, including a first prize of A$2.25 million, each runner is guaranteed a minimum of A$90,000.

Even if he finishes last, Man Of His Word’s cheque will usurp the A$64,000 he collected at his latest win at Doomben in December 2016 and take his prize-money past the A$500,000 mark.

Grand Syndications racing manager Sam Lyons said Man Of His Word has 20 owners, each with a five per cent share, and it’s a great thrill to have the horse running.

“It’s our Melbourne Cup, it’s our Cox Plate, it’s a chance for a few of our guys who were never going to get into a race like this to be able to have a shot,” Lyons said.

“We paid $10,000 for this horse so he’s going to get nine times his purchase price just for running around, so happy days. The $500 entry was well spent.”

Man Of His Word, to be ridden by Damien Thornton, gained his start as the eighth highest vote-getter in the public poll that has provided 10 of tomorrow’s runners. Lyons said the syndication group was always confident of gaining a start, even enlisting the owner of a hamburger shop in Melbourne.

“We set ourselves a goal and we spoke to each of our owners individually about how we wanted to go about it and to pull it off was something very satisfying,” Lyons said.

“An ex-owner of ours, who’s not in this horse or any of our horses anymore but still supports Grand Syndicates, has a hamburger joint in Melbourne and he offered for few days a free cheeseburger for anyone who voted for Man Of His Word.

“He might have given away 30 or 40 cheeseburgers, but more to the point it got people talking about the race.”

Lyons expects 18 of the 20 owners to be at Flemington and have teamed with Hancox Racing, the owners of Urban Ruler, to book out a function area.

 

View the full article