Melbourne Cup day has been a good one for the Hutchins family and the 2018 version was no exception, with five-year-old gelding No Nonsense Ned winning at Bairnsdale for Sale trainer Ian Hutchins.
No Nonsense Ned, who carries the same Hutchins Racing colours as 1973 Melbourne Cup winner Gala Supreme, was a maiden winner at the same Bairnsdale meeting in 2017.
This time, “Ned” combined with Sale hoop Kate Walters for an impressive win in the bet365 BM52 Handicap (1000m).
No Nonsense Ned ($3.20) was too speedy for Boots An All ($3.10 favourite) and Written Consent ($3.60). 
Hutchins, who has scaled down his team due to a poor run of health in recent years, has a place in racing history as the strapper of Gala Supreme, who was trained by Ray Hutchins (Ian’s dad) and ridden by stable rider Frank Reys.
Gala Supreme ran second in the 1973 Caulfield Cup, before his historic victory on November 6, Reys becoming the first Aboriginal jockey to ride a winner of the Melbourne Cup. 
Gala Supreme (9/1) carried seven stone, 10 pounds (49kg), with 41-year-old Reys the oldest jockey in the race. He drew the outside barrier (24).
Dumped to pumped
Mauritius-born jockey Jacques Luxe erased memories of last year’s less-than-ideal Cup day with victory at Bairnsdale on first-starter Vescer. 
On his last trip to Bairnsdale, on Melbourne Cup day last year, Luxe was dumped from an unruly galloper in the mounting yard and ended up in the casualty department of the local hospital.
This time he was all smiles after the Shane Nichols-trained Vescer ($2.70) narrowly defeated the Ciaron Maher/David Eustace first-starter Marston ($4.00) and Damien Walkley’s debutante Iloveannie ($4) in the TAC Maiden Plate (1000m).
The Master of Design gelding was a $12,000 purchase from the 2017 Magic Million Tasmanian yearling sale.
Luxe arrived in Australia as a mature-age apprentice in 2006, starting his career with David Payne before he moved to Melbourne to work for Caulfield trainer Mick Price. 
Luxe later ventured south to Tasmania, where five wins on “people’s horse” The Cleaner are a career highlight. 
Luxe has enjoyed recent success on King Island.
One to watch
The most impressive winner on the Bairnsdale card was the Maher/Eustace-trained Bold Arial, who combined with Aaron Mitchell for an easy 4½-length win in the Member for Gippsland East Tim Bull Maiden Plate (1200m).
The three-year-old filly by I Am Invincible, ran fourth in the Group 3 Widden Stakes behind Fiesta as a two-year-old and does appear to have a bright future.
It was a busy day for the Maher/Eustace operation, with 12 runners spread across meetings at Bairnsdale, Flemington, Wangaratta, Mildura, Cranbourne and Randwick.
O’Lovely (Wangaratta), Typhoonmerang (Mildura) and Flemington Group 3 winner Bella Rosa joined Bold Arial in the winner’s stall.