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The $10 million Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday of November is calling for the in-form Paul Preusker trained Torranzino following the six-year-old’s upset win in the rescheduled Group 3 Ladbrokes Geelong Cup (2400m) on Thursday.

Originally set to run yesterday before heavy wind gusts saw the Ladbrokes Geelong meeting abandoned, this year’s Geelong Cup was postponed and rescheduled for today with top honours going to $10 pop Torranzino who denied the odds-on favourite Gilded Water by a half-length with Berkeley Square third.

The win has secured the Tarzino gelding a golden ticket into the 2025 Melbourne Cup field at Flemington on November 4 and delivered a breakthrough moment for jockey Celine Gaudray.

“Super excited to get another go (at the Melbourne Cup). That’s what it is all about for me – getting a go,” Preusker said post-race.

“I came here yesterday thinking I’d run one-two. He’s done plenty of work for it and I love the way he’s going.

“We came through the hurdles yesterday but we might camp away next time.

“He’s been an unbelievable horse all the way through.

“He’s wanted to do things his way. I’ve hurdle-schooled him, steeple-schooled him, we’ve locked horns a few times but eventually he won and he’s a happy horse now.”

Coming off a lead-up second to subsequent Caulfield Cup third placegetter Valiant King in the Group 3 Bart Cummings, on Thursday Torranzino produced a powerful late burst coming from fourth at the turn to hit another gear 100m out from the line to surge past the beaten favourite rivals and take out the mile and a half feature.

“Last time they strung out, and he wasn’t travelling as well,” Gaudray told Racing.com.

“Today he was able to get a softer run behind them, and I know if I pulled out early enough, I’ve be able to get over the top of them.”

It was a career-defining ride for Gaudray, who now earns her first start in the Melbourne Cup — a dream come true for the rising star.

“It is so surreal,” she said.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I watched the Melbourne Cup – as does everybody else – and to get a ride is unbelievable and this horse really deserves his spot.

“The whole race I was giggling to myself. He was travelling really well and I thought at the 600 (metre mark) that I’d pop out and let him come into it.

“I had so much horse underneath me and he took me to the line.”

Torranzino’s win not only secured ballot exemption for the two-mile Flemington classic on the first Tuesday of November but also stamped him as a genuine contender in the staying ranks.

The gelding was 40th on the Melbourne Cup order of entry with 51kg before his Geelong triumph and had been considered a roughie in the field, but his performance, especially the way he travelled and finished, suggests he’s peaking at the right time.

The Geelong Cup has long been a proven springboard to Melbourne Cup success, with past winners like Americain and Dunaden going on to complete the double.

“He’s pretty much there. Just need to keep the weight off him,” Preusker said.

“He’s a horse that does well so we’ll keep him ticking over. He’s fit.”

Bookmakers have reacted accordingly slashing Torranzino’s price in futures Melbourne Cup betting in from $101 to $26 through Ladbrokes.com.au.

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