Former New Zealand galloper Farag was simply unstoppable in Sunday’s A$300,000 Jericho Cup (4600m), topping a Kiwi-bred trifecta in the iconic feature at Warrnambool.

The son of Sacred Falls had 14 starts in his homeland for Shelley Wright and managed a trio of third placings, with his staying promise catching the attention of Australian owner Peter Groidis.

The gelding swiftly got on the board across the Tasman in January, and since then, has won a further five races over 2400m.

Coming into Sunday’s contest, Farag had finished fourth in the Road To The Jericho (3800m) at The Valley, placing him a $9.10 hope on the New Zealand TAB market, with the Kiwi representative Split, racing in the colours of his owner Jo Rathbone, among the middle-market at $12.

Split was positively away from the barriers and remained prominent through the mid-stages, allowing Golden Garden to lead by a lengthy margin as they navigated the unique course. Farag remained in touch tracking Split, before jockey Will Gordon made his move to lead at the 1000m, and the race was all but over as the seven-year-old continued to extend the margin to 20 lengths at the post, with Split finishing bravely into second ahead of Roc De Cambes gelding Glen Massey.

Groidis was delighted with the result, a victory which increased Farag’s career earnings to more than A$330,000.

“It’s about the horse and about the occasion,” he said. “You don’t get too many races in Australia where it means so much to the people of Australia.

“If you are a patriotic Australian, and you love horse racing, this is the race to win. You can have your Melbourne Cup as there is no other race to win as a family.”

Farag was prepared by local Warrnambool trainer Aaron Purcell, who had every faith his gelding would see out the marathon distance.

“I thought the horses from the pack would chase him down, but I was confident our horse wouldn’t stop, so I was happy to see him hit the front as I knew he’d be a hard horse to get past,” he said.

Bred by Bruce Sherwin, Farag was initially sold to Shelley and Ian Wright for $1,000 via gavelhouse.com. Out of a Yamanin Vital mare Flightime, Farag is a half-brother to seven-race winner Fantasy Flight.

Farag is the second-Kiwi bred victor of the Jericho in a row, after Nassak Diamond’s similarly impressive romp last year for trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray.