The Cunning Fox has kept his record intact over jumps with a hard-fought victory in the feature hurdle race of the Warrnambool Carnival.
Success in the Galleywood Hurdle, the feature jumps race on the middle day of the three-day carnival, gave trainer Patrick Payne, who now trains in partnership with his sister Michelle, a full suite of jumps trophies at Warrnambool.
Prior to Wednesday’s success, Payne had registered one Brierly Steeplechase success to go with his four Grand Annual Steeplechase victories.
Ridden by Tom Ryan, The Cunning Fox ($3) scored a 1-¼ length win from the $2.35 betting sites favourite Affluential with Right Now ($20) a half-length away third.
The Cunning Fox was a handy performer on the flat, running second in the Listed VRC St Leger (2800m) at Flemington as a three-year-old but lost his way on the flat.
Switching to hurdles, the gelding made his debut over jumps at Pakenham last July with success which was followed by wins at Sandown and Ballarat.
Ryan has been aboard The Cunning Fox in his past two outings, first-up accounting for Stern Idol at Pakenham on April 13.
Success on Wednesday was also Ryan’s first in the Galleywood Hurdle.
He described The Cunning Fox as a terrier, but cat like when it came to his prowess over jumps.
“That was a dog fight,” Ryan told racing.com.
“There were no hiding places there and he answered every call.
“He’s such a cat, jumping wise. He’s so slick and clever. He approached the last wrong, but he was so quick and clever at it and got away from it.
“There’s that terrier in him, the dog in him, and he fought all the way to the line.”
Ryan said it was exciting to be associated with such a good jumper as The Cunning Fox.
“The feeling he gave me at Pakenham, it was something I hadn’t felt for a long time,” Ryan said.
“He showed today why I got that feeling from him at Pakenham with his fight.”
Ryan made a clean sweep of the jumps races on Wednesday collecting the Dunroe Steeplechase aboard Jekyll’n’Hyde.
