A Wanganui-owned horse may have a crack at the Melbourne Cup this year.
Who Shot Thebarman won the $100,000 Avondale Cup at Ellerslie on Saturday and if all goes well, the premiere Australasian horse race is in its owners' sights. Who Shot Thebarman is owned by Whangaehu and Marton brothers Shaun, Michael, Danny and Humphrey O'Leary.
Shaun O'Leary, of Whangaehu, said the horse will race in the Auckland Cup on March 5, and if it does well there, the Sydney Cup. And if it has success there, the Melbourne Cup is a possibility.
Who Shot Thebarman was bought unseen from a Dunedin stable. "We bought it over the phone. It was the third foal of a mare. If you look back, alot of champion horses are third foals."
The horse was bought by Shaun and Michael O'Leary and they gave a share each to Humphrey and Danny. It is the only horse all four brothers own together.