Without A Fight

Seventeen years have passed since Teofilo (Ire), a member of the second crop of Galileo (Ire), blazed a trail through his unbeaten juvenile season, ending the year as champion two-year-old after beating Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) in the G1 National and G1 Dewhurst S. Jim Bolger's homebred raced solely at seven furlongs that year, and his subsequent injury in the spring of 2007 meant that we could only guess at what he might have achieved at three and beyond. By that August he had been retired without ever returning to...

On a sunny Tuesday, 84,492 patrons were on hand to witness the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) win the 163rd G1 Melbourne Cup. There were so many layers to the victory of Without A Fight. The 7-year-old gelding has arguably been in career best form, winning the G1 Caulfield Cup S. last start and joined a rare collection of Thoroughbreds to claim both Cup races in the same season--the latest being the great mare Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm). The victory also served as back-to-back victories for...