New Zealand stayer Mandela has emerged as the fairytale story heading towards the Melbourne Cup after his low-key build-up gained sudden momentum with an emphatic victory in the Geelong Cup.

Bought for $NZ1,600 at Karaka's Festival Sale as a "scruffy" yearling and fighting back from suspected selenium poisoning a year ago, the five-year-old is now a sensational shortener with TAB Sportsbet from $301 to $21 for the Melbourne Cup.

Racing Victoria handicapper Greg Carpenter will assess Wednesday's win overnight before announcing any penalty which is necessary to lift him from 51st in order of entry for the Cup.

Ridden by Craig Williams, Mandela tracked the pacemaker Cefalu until entering the home straight and shot away at the 200 metres to score by 1-3/4 lengths from Vanquished with the favourite Drac's Back a half-length away third.

Mandela is the second Geelong Cup winner for trainer Richard Yuill who, under Australian racing rules, was forced to be trainer Colin Jillings' silent partner when Ultimate Aim won the 1993 Geelong Cup and finished 17th in the Melbourne Cup,

Yuill, who has been training independently since Jillings retired last year, said Mandela was getting better with age and deserved his chance at Flemington.

He said all the signs were positive that he would run well after arriving last Tuesday week and that plans fell into place when he made the Geelong field and Williams took the ride.

"We have got to sort of settle down and get our feet back on the ground after that," Yuill said

"The (Melbourne) Cup was the major mission we came across for and everything is falling into place for us."

Elizabeth Olsen, who owns Mandela with her husband David, was both proud and elated as the significance of Wednesday's win sunk in.

"It is unbelievable that he's done this," Olsen said.

"We bought him as a very scruffy looking yearling for $1,600 and then he was such a sick horse with selenium poising as a four-year-old."

As a three-year-old Mandela was trained by Richard Otto when he ran second to last year's Melbourne Cup placegetter Xcellent in the 2004 NZ Derby, but after sickness ruined his four-year-old season he joined Yuill's stable in January this year.

"I think as a five-year-old he is coming into his own now," Yuill said.

Mandela had been placed at four of his five starts in New Zealand this campaign and last start his jockey Michael Coleman lost his whip when he was beaten in a photo-finish over 2040m at Hastings on October 7.

© AAP 2024 Published 25/10/06