The weather will decide how far Coup Acclaim races into the colder months after the imported stayer confirmed his preference for dry ground at Hawkesbury on Saturday.
Another northern hemisphere horse who has paid his way in Australia for trainer Chris Waller, Coup Acclaim won his most important race since his arrival in Sydney when he gained a photo decision over Lysistrata in the Provincial Stayers’ Championship Final (2100m).
Coup Acclaim - Photo by Steve Hart
And while most imports are adept in rain-affected going, Coup Acclaim has proved an exception after bouncing back from a heavy Doncaster Mile day defeat on a rain-sodden track to claim the $100,000 race.
“Just how far he goes this time in remains to be seen,” Waller stable foreman Peter Muscutt said.
“He is one of those horses who just isn’t effective in soft ground so he’ll probably go out when the tracks become wet.”
While his wet-track credentials are suspect, there is no doubt the five-year-old is photogenic as he put the right stride in at the right time to win by a short half-head and deny local trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith a home track win.
“He had a few things in his favour today but he got the job done and that’s all that matters,” jockey Hugh Bowman said.
Coup Acclaim’s victory, his second in a campaign which started in February, gave Bowman the second leg of an early winning double.
Bowman, a clear-cut leader in the Sydney jockeys’ premiership, also rode Zoustar to victory for Waller in the Evergreen Turf Handicap.
