Northerly Orr Stakes over 1,400 metres at Caulfield and victory in the St George Stakes at the same venue a fortnight later, but Old Comrade came with a well-timed run to win the Cup in a boilover. After a tough campaign, with very little rest and stretching from August to March, Fred Kersley decided to give Northerly a good spell in the lead-up to his spring campaign. After beginning his campaign in an unsuitably short sprint in Perth, Northerly arrived in Melbourne for the Memsie Stakes, but tried to bite one of his rivals, Fields Of Omagh, and was unplaced. Backing
Northerly neck. Northerly's weight carrying feat eclipsed Sydeston's modern-day record of 57 kilos (set in 1990), while Fields Of Omagh won two Cox Plates over the next four years. Northerly started favourite, and the typically fighting win was well received by the crowd on the day. Jockey Greg Childs said "With 58 kilos, the way the race was run, he was always open to be run down by a lighter-weighted horse. I let him stride at the 600 metres which is what Fred wanted. I knew he would be vulnerable to a lighter-weighted horse in the last 50 metres but he