Point Nepean gained a ballot exemption into the Melbourne Cup by winning the Listed Andrew Ramsden Stakes over 2800 metres at Flemington.
Trained by Robert Hickmott and ridden by Alana Kelly, the four-year-old came home a three-quarter length winner over Luncies, with a further two and a quarter lengths back to Through Irish Eyes in third.
She is now a 25/1 shot for the Group 1 feature in November.
"This horse has really come forward over the last two or three months," part-owner Nick Williams said. "You don't see them win like that very often, particularly an inexperienced horse against seasoned stayers.
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"He was very poorly weighted in that race and it was probably fair to say that everything that could've gone wrong for Alana went wrong.
"But the great thing about her, and this is why she will be such a good jockey, is she didn't panic.
"She kept the horse in a rhythm, and once the pace came out of the race she got herself into a position to win and the horse did the rest for her."
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