RACE fever has fit the Blue Lake city, with The Scott Group of Companies Mount Gambier Gold Cup set down for today.
The Allan Scott Glenburnie Racecourse will host the first twilight running of the cup, with racing set to kick off from 2.30pm this afternoon.
The main race will take place at 6.10pm, with a quality field to contest the 2400m cup.
Mount Gambier trainer Michael O’Leary will look for his seventh cup win, with Emil sure to be with a good chance, along with Naracoorte’s Sue Jaensch, with Costa Lante.
Warranambool trainer Dane Smith will look for his second Mount Gambier Gold Cup this year with San Remo, after winning the May event with Golden Authority.
However, much focus will be on the date and time of the cup, which will remain a summer fixture going forward and is sure to provide an enjoyable time for racegoers in the Limestone Coast.
SECOND MOUNT GAMBIER CUP BECKONS WALTERS
FORMER Mount Gambier trainer Wayne Walters, these days based in Sale, Victoria, can make the long trip back worthwhile this afternoon by winning the $50,000 Scott Group of Companies Mount Gambier Gold Cup.
Walters won the race back in 2014 with Luckzat prior to heading to Gippsland and his cup representative today – Mr Clarify – will have his first look at the Glenburnie circuit.
Coming with him will be his daughter/jockey Kate, who won the cup aboard Luckzat and Mr Clarify will be one of four rides for her this afternoon.
The quality of the cup field fell away on Wednesday from originally a 12-horse field when the top weight Kilimanjaro and the in-form Rupture were not final acceptors for the feature staying race of the Limestone Coast season.
Rupture would have started a short-priced favourite after a recent second in Melbourne and his runaway win in the Hamilton Cup in October, while Kilimanjaro is an imported horse, formerly with Lloyd Williams and now trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
Rupture has been saved to race in Sunday’s Werribee Cup.
While Mr Clarify has not won a race from seven starts this campaign, he has been racing in far superior quality races in and around Melbourne.
In mid September, the seven-year-old gelding was only beaten 1.3 lengths in a 2500 metre race at Flemington and then ran a big race when third in the Moe Cup a month later.
Two subsequent runs have been nothing to get excited about (a ninth in the Eclipse Stakes on Sandown Cup day and a seventh over 2600 metres at Ballarat 13 days ago), but Mr Clarify will not know himself against seemingly easier opposition today.
Another Victorian looms as a danger in the favourite San Remo from the Dane Smith stable at Stawell.
Smith will be attempting to win two Mount Gambier cups in the space of seven months after Golden Authority won it back on May 10.
San Remo easily won a 3800 metre race at Ararat in November prior to a last-start fourth at Ballarat in the same race contested by Mr Clarify.
Today, Mr Clarify meets San Remo 3.5 kilograms better on the weight scale.
There are only two Limestone Coast trained runners in the cup, Costa Lante from the Naracoorte stable of Sue Jaensch and the local hope, the Michael O’Leary trained Emil.
Costa Lante is a last-start winner over 2000 metres at Naracoorte and he is not accustomed to winning successive races.
Emil has been set for this race for months, aiming to give O’Leary his seventh home-town cup success.
The seven-year-old gelding failed to flatter in his warm up race when seventh behind Costa Lante at Naracoorte but, according to O’Leary, Emil “is bursting to run 2400 metres”.
With Horsham trainer Paul Preusker not running Rupture, his stable will rely on The Great Artiste, a complete unknown at the distance.
The Great Artiste has won as far as 1600 metres and his latest victory was over 1400 metres at Horsham before a tiring fifth (of sixth) in the recent 1620 metre Donald Cup.
The Stawell stable of Terry and Karina O’Sullivan are no strangers to winning a Mount Gambier Gold Cup, having done so in 2015 with Stable Star when it was run at Penola.
Today they saddle up Patch Adams, winner of this year’s Casterton Cup and the closest of seconds in the Murtoa and St Arnaud Cups in October.
Top weight is Jumbo Prince from the John Brooks stable at Warrnambool, better known as a jumper and a winner of the hurdle run here in September.
Yesterday the track was rated a Soft 6 and track manager Lukas Byfeldt believes “the reading will stay the same with the weather we’re having”.
The track will be closed for some time after track work tomorrow to allow further maintenance to be undertaken.
HALO TO SHINE
NEW apprentice Libby Halliday gets the opportunity to win the biggest race in her brief career when she pilots Jester Halo in the $25,000 1550 metre Blue Lake Handicap.
Halliday won her first race a fortnight ago at Naracoorte on Atomic Wizard and Jester Halo looks one of the star bets on the card.
A disappointing six-horse field, but there definitely is a touch of quality about it and, like Mr Clarify in the cup, Jester Halo is dropping back in class to what she has been meeting in Victoria.
Halliday has been riding the Darren Kolpin trained mare in track work and Jester Halo should be primed to produce her best at her third run from a spell.
A second at Flemington over a mile back in April reads as good form for this and Jester Halo was a close third when first-up in the China Bowl at Ararat on November 10.
The Richard Wilson trained Pickelhaube is aiming at a rare feat, namely to win two Blue Lake handicaps in the one year.
Pickelhaube was a relative newcomer to the Wilson stable when he won at the race back in May and the former NSW performer was only beaten an eyelash by stablemate Mista Holyfield when resuming at Penola almost a month ago.
Mista Holyfield has to be a big chance on that effort and the seven-year-old gelding has won three races from 10 starts here on his home track.
The Stawell visitor Revlis has been around the mark this preparation, winning first up at Bendigo in September with subsequent placings at Cranbourne and Ararat.
READY TO RUMBLE
A WINNING case can be found for the top five runners in an excellent $25,000 Volcano Handicap field, the premier sprint race of the season in the Limestone Coast.
Soul Fire, a track specialist here with three wins and a placing from five starts, won this edition back in May, but this looks a tougher field.
Gunning for a first-up win is the Belinda O’Loughlin trained This Kid Rocks and a repeat of his third in last May’s Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool will make him hard to beat.
King Louis is the interesting runner, winner of a Group 3 race in New Zealand in January before transferring across the Tasman to the Simon Morrish stable at Ballarat where he has failed to fire at two Australian starts.
The Warrnambool visitor Favonski, all the better for two runs this preparation, races well here and won successive races at Penola last campaign in the autumn.
Wylie Ol’ Coyote has had a two month break, is a proven first up performer and beat a good field here back in September.
