Kings Sicario wins Broome Cup in thrilling fashion

The Darryn Patemen trained Kings Sicario put the cherry on the top of a superb campaign when he won the $100 000 Broome Cup in thrilling fashion in front of crowd reportedly numbering 7000 people … a tremendous on-track figure for any Country Cup meeting and one which underlined the great effort the Broome Turf Club had done in promoting their signature race.

This was Kings Sicario’s third Country Cup win in less than a month … but the biggest one of all … following on his $30 000 Derby Cup win on July 18 and his $35 000 Kimberley Cup win (at Broome) on August 1.

Kings Sicario had won the Derby Cup with 0.76 lengths in hand and was even more comfortable when taking out the Kimberley Cup … he won that one by 2.16 lengths … but this time it required a near inch-perfect ride by Tash Faithfull to get Kings Sicario home in a blanket finish which saw a touch over a length separating the first four runners across the line.

Faithfull’s ride and her all around handling of Kings Sicario ($4.80) was even more meritorious given that the Broome Cup ride was the first time she had partnered the seven-year-old son of King’s Troop. Those looking for the best horse racing betting sites saw the well-supported Kings Sicario complete a remarkable hat-trick of Country Cup victories.

Kings Sicario dropped out from gate eight and was in last place, all of eleven lengths back when the field left the home straight for the first time. Faithfull remained patience personified as she allowed Kings Sicario to lope along a couple of lengths behind the second last horse, Kings Sicario’s stable companion Pharoah Show ($7) in the first part of the race, before moving into second last spot, now twelve lengths back as the field went down the back stretch.

At the 600m mark, Faithfull asked Kings Sicario to start making up ground and he did that … with Pharoah’s Show in tow, but he was doing that out wide on the track, covering extra ground.

In spite of that, he had made significant progress when he straightened six wide … and then shifted another two horses out … as he began his race winning charge, leaving him with a touch under four lengths left to make up with 250m left to run.

There were no favours though. Kings Sicario was going to have to earn it.

“It’s like the charge of the Light Brigade,” called the commentator … with eight horses spread right across the track inside the final 200m, and it was Kings Sicario who was strongest of all, with Faithfull driving him to the front when it mattered most to take the honours in a highly pressurised finish.

Let’sDeal, who had finished 9.56 lengths behind Kings Sicario in the Kimberley Cup, ran out of his skin at odds of $21 to claim a highly creditable runner-up finish for trainer Anthony Barton and jockey Aaron Sweeney.

The $4.40 joint favourites Maxxi Bona and Manavendra were both soundly beaten out of the placings.