Two more qualifying races for the $3 million Big Dance … the South Grafton Cup and the Narrandera Cup … were decided today.
To be eligible for a place in the final field for the Big Dance, runners have to finish in first or second place in one of the designated qualifying races. There is a procedure that will be followed once all of those races have been decided which will determine the final field for the Big Dance, but the first port of call, eligibility-wise, is to earn either first or second place in any of the designated races.
The runners who achieved that today were the Tom Charlton-trained Mr Chaplin and the Annabel and Rob Archibald-trained Fortune, who finished first and second respectively at Grafton … and the Craig Weeding-trained Yam (the winner) and the Keith Dryden & Libby Snowden-trained Acheson, who got the job done at Narrandera.
Kerrin McEvoy, who rode Mr Chaplin, was particularly pleased with the win, not just because of the door it opened for the horse and the Charlton stable … but also because, in McEvoy’s own words, “the last time I gave him a bad ride and I thought the least I can do is come up here and try to win on him. I was more than happy to come up for Tom (Charlton) and try to right my wrongs.”
That McEvoy did with a confident ride, sweeping Mr Chaplin (the $2.40 race favourite) up from off the pace to win going away by a 1.46-length margin from the $21 chance Fortune, who ran above market expectations.
If McEvoy was pleased, apprentice Cassidy Hill was absolutely thrilled after taking out the Narrandera Cup aboard the Craig Weeding-trained Yam.
Hill persevered with an inside run on the $4.60 second favourite in the first half of the straight and, while that looked to be an optimistic choice at one stage, the run she was looking for eventually came and Yam needed no second asking as he proved too strong for his rivals over the concluding stages.
Hill returned to scale punching the air with delight with a smile as broad as it could possibly be … and why not!
Not only had she taken out the Narrandera Cup, but it was her second feature race success on the day having earlier saluted on Big Day Out in the Sprint Benchmark 74 Showcase Handicap, also for trainer Craig Weeding.
Just as was the case in the South Grafton Cup where the runner-up Fortune started at $21, so too did the second-placed runner in the Narrandera Cup, Acheson, who was similarly unwanted in the betting at $20.
The difference between the result of these two Big Dance eligibility races is that while the favourite Mr Chaplin won the South Grafton Cup, the Narrandera Cup favourite Boltsaver ($3.80) came up short and had to settle for third place.
