Gai Waterhouse claimed her first Caulfield Cup and biggest victory in Melbourne on Saturday as her highly talented son of High Chaparral, Descerado, staved off all comers in the straight to record a gritty 1 -1/4L victory.

For jockey, Chris Munce, who was recently imprisoned in a Hong Kong jail for race fixing, it was an emotional win and his biggest success since returning to Australia to resume riding.

The Cup trifecta had a Kiwi flavour with Harris Tweed running second, and The Racing Insider tip, Monaco Consul, in third place, paying a handsome $6 place dividend. A small, but select group of brave racegoers battled the elements and headed to Caulfield, and gazing out my window at a pile of hail blanketing the backyard just hours before the races were due to commence - I had doubts the meeting would go ahead at all.

However, in spite of the smallest crowd in 27 years, Caulfield Cup day was a triumph for track manager, Jason Kerr and his team, who presented a safe and very even racing surface in spite of the huge obstacles Mother Nature threw at them.

Punters had an up-and-down day as some runners relished the wet track while others simply left their flippers and snorkel at home and refused to run through the Heavy 10 surface. As for the Racing Insider, well, I was looking for a new job after the two best bets of the day got rolled in quick succession to kick off the programme. The Play of the Day, Rekindled Interest, was scratched from race four but thankfully the horse identified as the main danger, Retrieve, held on for a hard fought win in the 2000M Norman Robinson Stakes.

Retrieve was quickly turned into a solid $3.50 favourite for the Victoria Derby in a fortnight, where hopefully he will meet Rekindled Interest in what will be a tantalising battle. After notching a small win on the board the Racing Insider's day continued on the up and up as Monaco Consul ran a slashing third in the Caulfield Cup before another New Zealander in Culminate, the value bet of the day, romped to victory at the handsome odds of 16/1.

The Spring Carnival juggernaut now bids farewell to a successful three-day extravaganza at Caulfield and looks forward to next weekend's WFA Championship of Australasia, The Cox Plate, to be run over 2040M at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

A number of horses put in key runs as we head towards the business end of the spring, while there are a few efforts that I have highlighted as forgive runs, failures simply due to the sloppy track. The Caulfield Cup is always a strong pointer to the Melbourne Cup, and to my eye no horse put in a better trial than last year's winner, Shocking.

Jockey, Michael Rodd, said the horse was never comfortable in the going and really struggled to get into his rhythm, however, the son of Street Cry still found plenty in the straight and did a great job to finish a close up fourth.

French import, Manighar, was outstanding in his Australian debut, hitting the line as well as any horse to finish fifth. Jockey, Damien Oliver, also reported his mount did not handle the going and he is going to be very competitive over the 3200M in 15 days' time.

Of the other Internationals the Hong Kong galloper Mr Medici was competitive in finishing sixth, although in spite of his jockey claiming he will be better over the two mile, I can't see that being the case, while Japanese visitor,

, was all at sea in the going and he has performed over 3000M, so must stay under consideration.

Nothing can be taken away from the winner and placegetters who did an enormous job to plough through heavy going for 2400 long and arduous metres. However, from a Melbourne Cup perspective I think Harris Tweed is the horse with most scope for improvement over the longer journey.

Moving forward, I would be very wary of the form from the Caulfield Cup. The last time the race was run on a comparably bottomless track only three runners went on to compete in the Melbourne Cup, all performing below expectations.

An arduous run can take a serious toll on a horse, particularly over such a staying trip, and horses such as Bart Cummings pair, Faint Perfume and Dariana, that evidently did not handle the track and were not knocked over the concluding stages could make dramatic improvement back onto a better surface next time around.

To my eye, the most outstanding run of the day was veteran Sniper's Bullet, who has obviously relished his recent switch to the stables of Robert Smerdon. The 7YO son of Bite The Bullet looked to be floundering hopelessly in the ground and coming around the home turn it seemed he would finish amongst the backmarkers. However, under the urgings of jockey, Nash Rawiller, Sniper's Bullet picked up and let down a blistering sprint in the straight, failing to reel in eventual winner, Rothera, by the barest of margins.

Digital Fortress, form the stables of powerful Sydney trainer Guy Walter, was an eye-catching run behind Retrieve in the Norman Robinson Stakes. In spite of conceding the leaders a hefty margin coming around the home turn, Digital Fortress showed a brilliant turn of foot and finished within three quarters of a length of the winner. He is definitely a horse with staying potential and will be very competitive over the 2400M journey of the Victoria Derby.

Shadowofexcellence missed the start hopelessly and his run could be forgiven, although the half brother to Makybe Diva might have had enough for this campaign. Lee Freedman has had a lean trot of late, and at times has mentioned being burnt out by racehorse training, however, he unearthed a genuine Oaks contender in his star filly, Dizlago.

Ridden by Nick Hall, the daughter of Encosta De Lago always travelled sweetly in the run and quickly gained the ascendancy in the straight, racing away to win by 3.3L.

The run of Placement, who was well back in the field, was outstanding as she closed late to finish second, a run that will see her improve dramatically next time out.

Set For Fame showed the benefits of a Queensland winter spell, returning in fine fettle to claim the Caulfield Stakes over 1100M. However, it was the run of Dubleanny that pleased this judge as she rallied late after appearing to be struggling hopelessly coming to the home turn. The Mick Price trained mare already has a win over the highly regarded Doubtful Jack on her CV and she is going to be a force to be reckoned with at Flemington, and the 2011 Autumn Carnival.

On a day dominated by Kiwi horses, it was no surprise to see Ginga Dude, trained by New Zealand's Graeme Boyd, dominate the David Jones Cup with a bold front running display in spite of working hard early. Dominant favourite, Purple, sent around $3.30 by punters was going backwards at a rapid rate on the turn, and 400M from home she was going to finish closer to last than first. However, the Peter Snowden trained daughter of Commands picked up the bit and sprinted home brilliantly over the final 300M to finish second. Not entered in the Melbourne Cup, I am not entirely sure where Purple will head next, but she might finally reward her persistent backers with a long overdue win.

The Luca Cumani-trained Becqu Adoree, owned by ex-cricketer Simon O'Donnell's OTI racing Syndicate, put in a run of note from as we look towards the Melbourne Cup. The English stayer was slow out of the gates before racing wide the entire trip, gallantly fighting on to finish midfield. She will be greatly improved for the hit-out on Australian soil and one must always be wary of the Cumani stable come the first Tuesday in November.

The Tristarc Stakes was diminished after star Sydney mare, Hot Danish, was withdrawn due to the state of the track. Another ex-Kiwi horse in Culminate eventually won the event, but there were two performances in the race worth following, Jersey Lily (2nd) and Venus World (4th). Both horses were stepping up in grade but made solid ground in the straight after racing midfield throughout. Looking forward to the four days of the Flemington Carnival there will be suitable races for both of these horses and they could find themselves in the winners stall next time they greet the starter.

Thanks to some brilliant track management and the fast draining Caulfield surface the meeting did indeed go ahead on Saturday, but unless the "big wet" continues in Melbourne the form needs to be treated with extreme care over the next three weeks.

A number of horses simply didn't handle the Heavy 10 track, and provided the tracks improve at Moonee Valley and Flemington, then so will a number of these horses.

There has been little mention of Cox Plate trials in this review, and with very good reason. The attention may turn to Moonee Valley next weekend; however, all eyes will be on champion trainer, Bart Cummings, and his stable superstar in So You Think. Already a Cox Plate winner, So You Think will be trying to win the race for the second time at only his tenth start, and with his opposition running scared, the only potential roadblock appears to be star Sydney mare, More Joyous.

The Moir Stakes will be another highlight next weekend as Peter Moody's sprint sensation, Black Caviar, will strut her stuff in what could be the first of two Spring clashes with boom sprinter, Hay List.