Trainer Troy Pascoe is eyeing a significant Cup winning double as he prepares to nominate Flash Aah, his impressive Ipswich Cup winner, for a crack at the Caloundra Cup next Saturday.
Pascoe is realistic about the task ahead, but he is also justifiably buoyed by not just the Ipswich Cup success, but the manner in which it was achieved, with the nine-year-old rattling home like a lively spirited youngster to surge past his opposition to claim what was, in the end, an emphatic victory.
“We are going throw a nom in for the Caloundra Cup 2025 and have a look at it for sure,” said Pascoe.
“I looked it up. It’s been a long time since a horse had won the Ipswich Cup and then gone on to win the Caloundra Cup and he probably is a bit suss at the 2400m on his old form, but I don’t think I have ever seen him finish off over 2100m the other day, so, that gives us hope that he will run it, particularly if there is a bit of tempo in there and he can be ridden in a similar manner … if he goes to sleep … I think he will run it out.
“Ronnie Stewart, who partnered Flash aah to victory at Ipswich, has already phoned up for the ride, so we’ve got him booked for it.”
“It is obviously an exciting time for the Pascoe yard, particularly when you consider the size of their stable in comparison to some of the mega stables they race against … and beat at Ipswich … which includes, amongst others, the likes of Tony Gollan, Ciaron Maher, the Annabel and Rob Archibald training partnership and the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott training partnership.
“We only have six in training at the minute,” said Pascoe, “including a couple that need to find an easier jurisdiction. We are working at trying to find the right place to go with them … but it gets a bit hard.”
It has been well-documented the excessive number of trainers that Flash Aah had been through before arrived at the Pascoe yard, and yet, ironically, arguably the most critical part of his career occurred away from race action when he was sidelined from the end of December 2023 to the middle of April 2025 … a sixteen month period during which Flash Aah’s fortunes could have gone either way.
“He picked up an injury going over the crossing at Eagle Farm when he was based there,” explained Pascoe.
“They sent him to the Uni …and they couldn’t find what the cause was of his lameness.
“It must have been around June that year (2024) when I got him … and we had him very nearly ready to trial when he hurt his other leg.
“It might have been because he was compensating, because he was sort of on three legs for a good couple of months. I think probably all of the strain caused the injury to the another leg … so we rehabbed him and he has come back sound as a bell.
“I have a good friend who is a vet down in Ballarat. He diagnosed his second injury just via video after I’d had a couple of people look at him and scratching their heads.
“He diagnosed him pretty quick and gave me a rehab program for him … what best he needs and what work to bring him back with.
“He always been a good horse and we tried to have him spot on for that race (the Ipswich Cup).”
Pascoe’s hope is that the Ipswich Cup … and possibly a positive Caloundra Cup result … can give the stable a bit of a kick-along.
Certainly, the manner in which Pascoe has exhibited that fine, but oh so testing, mix of perseverance and patience and managed this rising ten-year-old so well … seemingly giving him ‘new legs’ … is a credit to the stable and worthy of finding its mark in attracting new clientele.
