Gallic Chieftain convinced Ballarat trainer Archie Alexander he deserves a run in the Sydney Cup with victory in the group 2 $300,000 Chairman's Handicap, 2600m, in Sydney on Saturday.
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Gallic Chieftain tightened from $26 to $15 for the cup.
When fellow Ballarat trainer Darren Weir was disqualified, OTI Racing transferred last year's Warrnambool Cup winner Gallic Chieftain to Alexander, which had had several horses with him.
The six-year-old was having his third start for the stable.
"OTI is a big help to me and always have been, and this horse is terrific," Alexander said.
"Coming up here I was really confident. We've brought horses up here before and it's hard travelling them.
"Some horses just don't settle,but this horse has done really well.
"We came up here just for this race, but with the Sydney Cup in the back of our mind obviously," he said.
"We probably can't go back home now so we will keep him here, keep him nice and fresh for a week, and tackle the big one.
"It's been a real mission of mine to come up and beat you guys in Sydney and I'm really happy to do it.
"I thought with his light weight and barrier one and one of the best jockeys in the world on him it was the right way to go."
"He is a credit to Archie and his team," jockey Damian Lane said.
"They've got the horse so happy. He can be a sour bugger at times but he was in the zone in the yard and he raced that way."
