Talented stayer Tall Ship has justified his clear favouritism in the 2015 Warrnambool Cup (2350m) this afternoon; displaying an incredible turn of foot in the final straight to hit the line four lengths in the clear of his rivals.

Jumping from the gates well, jockey Brad Rawiller settled Tall Ship in prime position within the field of eleven; allowing early leaders Shoreham, Lucciola and Clairvaux to set a fair tempo away from the barriers and rounding onto the back straight.

Finding a good position with cover and settling into a good rhythm, the son of Sea The Stars received an ideal run in transit and was slowly wound-up by Rawiller approaching the final straight.

Offered a clear racing line 400m from the post, Tall Ship produced a monumental kick and exploded away from his rivals; opening a wide gap before hitting the line well ahead of Arch Fire and Lucciola.

Trainer Darren Weir was understandably pleased with Tall Ship’s performance for success in the 2015 Warrnambool Cup and confirmed a return to the paddock looks likely for the four-year-old ahead of a Spring Carnival campaign geared towards major staying races.

“He’s had a great campaign and there’s been no pressure from the owners,” Weir said after the race.

“He had good form when he was bought so he came to us as a horse with good potential.

“He ran well at Sandown his first start and then he took a massive step at home from his first to his second start and he obviously won at Geelong. He’s just taken little steps since then and took another good step today I reckon.

“I’ll have to talk to the owners but I think he’s done enough now. We’ll give him a little break and hopefully bring him back for the spring.

“He looks like he’ll stick and we’ll head to the better staying races I guess and see where we end up.”

Weir and Rawiller combined for success in the 2014 edition of the Warrnambool Cup with Akzar, and the Victoria-based hoop was thrilled to repeat the dose aboard Tall Ship this afternoon.

“From the outside gates it was certainly always going to be better than drawing the inside,” Rawiller said immediately after dismounting.

“A horse like him gets pulling and he’s still a little bit raw. That was always going to the only concern today because we knew ability-wise he’d beat these horses – he’s got a lot of upside.

“When I could get cover and be in that line it was perfect, he was hard on the bridle and just everything at the right time was happening for me.

“When he straightened, that was it, he just put them away so big, big effort.

“Great for the team. Darren just keeps doing it time and time again.”

Tall Ship eased in 2015 Warrnambool Cup betting markets in the hours leading up to jump, and punters who backed the import to win with Ladbrokes.com.au have been paid out on generous $3.40 odds!

2015 Warrnambool Cup Results

Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Starting Price
1	6	TALL SHIP (IRE)	Darren Weir	Brad Rawiller	–	11	57kg	$3.30F
2	12	ARCH FIRE (USA)	Robert Smerdon	Chris Parnham	3.75L	9	54kg	$11
3	9	LUCCIOLA (IRE)	David & Coral Feek	Regan Bayliss (a)	3.85L	7	54kg	$7.50
4	2	TOOLEYBUC KID	Darren Weir	Mark Zahra	4.05L	6	59.5kg	$9
5	1	SHOREHAM	Saab Hasan	Steven Arnold	4.15L	5	59.5kg	$11
6	14	CLAIRVAUX	Matthew Williams	Ryan Maloney	6.4L	4	54kg (cd 54.5kg)	$19
7	13	GOLD MEDALS (NZ)	Symon Wilde	Dean Yendall	6.9L	8	54kg	$21
8	11	COUNT ENCOSTA	Darren Weir	Ms Michelle Payne	13.9L	2	54kg	$5.50
9	3	TUSCAN FIRE	Dan O’Sullivan	Damien Oliver	14.65L	1	58kg	$7
10	4	SECESSIO (GB)	Bob Challis	Michael Walker	15.65L	10	57.5kg	$26
11	15	RED FELLA	Chris Ryan	Jason Benbow	17.15L	3	54kg	$71