Cup dream that almost became a nightmare: The real story behind Without A Fight’s incredible win

22 hours ago 5

Opinion

October 17, 2025 — 3.09pm

Two years ago, on the day of the Caulfield Cup, I was on edge.

Our horse, Without A Fight, had been struggling with a virus for two weeks, and we were uncertain if he would even make it to the starting line. While post-race celebrations often paint a picture of smooth sailing, our reality was quite the opposite.

Trainer Sam Freedman (right), jockey Mark Zahra and Without A Fight after winning the 2023 Caulfield Cup.

For 10 long and stressful days, the prospect of him making it to the Caulfield Cup barriers had hung precariously in the balance. I still remember anxiously waiting for his blood results each afternoon. It was a daily dose of agony.

If just one of those emails from the laboratory revealed a spike in his virus, we were going to be in strife.

Such challenges are not rare in racing stables, yet they always seem to catch you off guard. We didn’t see this one coming.

Two weeks before the Caulfield Cup, on a Sunday morning, Without A Fight – affectionately known in the stable as “Connor” – left a half-dipper of food (about two handfuls) untouched, a rarity for a horse with a hearty appetite.

Alarm bells rang, prompting us to send blood samples to the lab. The results were disheartening; Connor’s white blood cell count was high, and his inflammatory markers were elevated, telltale signs he was fighting a virus.

Normally, a trainer has two courses of action: prescribe the horse anti-inflammatories and scratch him from the race, or resort to fresh air and antibiotics and hope for the best.

His blood profile a week out from the Caulfield Cup was still not great. Most horses would have been sent for a spell or rescheduled for a race later in the spring. But Connor wasn’t just any other horse, so we weren’t willing to accept that fate.

Managing this sort of situation takes careful consideration.

Zahra (left) and Without A Fight nose out West Wind Blows (right) in the 2023 Caulfield Cup.

As a trainer, you don’t want to alarm the owner, you don’t want to worry the jockey, and you don’t need outside public noise to further complicate your thoughts. So, we kept his condition and his progress within the confines of a tight circle - myself, my father Anthony, and our vet.

Fortunately, as we waited for Connor to recover, he had residual fitness on his side.

We did not need to pour the work into him because he had been racing throughout the winter. Without that base, he would have not made it to the Caulfield Cup. Without the Caulfield Cup, I still maintain that there’s no way he would have won the Melbourne Cup. I shake my head now thinking about how close we came to missing out on that dream.

By Caulfield Cup day, we knew Connor had recovered.

He was impressive in his final gallop but, with factors like the heat and a big crowd, we just didn’t know how he was going to hold up under the pressure.

Under the stewards’ tower, I stood knowing we had done all we could. It was over to Mark Zahra and the horse.

Ultimately, the true test for Connor would come at the 800-metre mark – that is typically when the pressure is applied in a Caulfield Cup.

We would find out if we were in with a shot of winning, or whether it was going to be lights out. He refused to yield.

As the field turned into the home straight, my confidence started to grow. The horse was picking up and responding to Zahra’s riding. He hated losing. Even at home, if you galloped him in company he always wanted to win.

Some horses just have that immeasurable quality – the mental aptitude to want to win. I knew as he drew up alongside West Wind Blows he would be fighting to get his nose in front.

As they flashed past, he was driving hard, and I thought he had the momentum. But you just never know. Call me glass half empty, but I’m never prepared to claim the race until the photo goes in the frame.

When his number finally flashed up, I was a little subdued. I just needed a moment for it all to sink in. This is the kind of moment you cherish forever, considering how close we had come to not even lining up in the race.

Freedman and Zahra hold aloft the Caulfield Cup after Without A Fight’s win.

We don’t have a runner in this year’s Caulfield Cup, but to my eye there are two horses that stand out from the pack – favourite Half Yours and UK import Meydaan.

Half Yours is very short in the market, but he’s coming through the Turnbull Stakes, which is always a good lead-up race, and he drops significantly in weight.

In comparison, Meydaan has very good UK form. He was beaten 2¼ lengths by Giavellotto, who is a serious horse, having run fourth in the recent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The only knock on Meydaan is that he hasn’t won in a while. He landed his first and fourth races, but has failed to win again in his next nine starts. So I am leaning towards Half Yours on Saturday because I think he has got a bit more grit. If I was to pick a roughie, I’d go Birdman.

Whoever wins, they’ll have that same unforgettable moment - hopefully without the nail-biting stress.

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