First Murray Bridge. Then Seymour and Sale. And now for Ballarat.
Trainer Tony McEvoy’s assault on country cups continues when last year’s runner-up Pelicano returns for Sunday’s $200,000 Ballarat Cup.
“He had no luck in it last year and no doubt should have won,” McEvoy said.
“And he’s probably in better form this year.”
McEvoy’s run of country cup success this season started with Pelicano in the Murray Bridge Cup in South Australia last month.
A few days later Sysmo added the Seymour Cup, and then Mouro stormed to victory in the Sale Cup a week later.
“They are cracking races to win,” McEvoy said.
“This would be the real icing on the cake if we could win this one.”
Pelicano is one of 30 nominations for the 2200m race along with the horse who beat him by a nose last year, King Diamond.
McEvoy has aimed Pelicano at the Ballarat feature and insists the horse’s form leading into it has him ready to run a big race.
He is willing to overlook the gelding’s last-start sixth at Flemington as he said the way the 1800m race was run didn’t suit the five-year-old.
Ballarat is not the only Cup McEvoy is a chance of winning on Sunday, with the trainer starting Sky Raider in the $100,000 Goulburn Cup.
Grant Buckley has the ride on Sky Raider while Ben Melham will pilot Pelicano.
