The second Evergreen Turf CDRA Country Championships Qualifier for the season provided the perfect outcome for trainer Dean Mirfin who saddled the race quinella at Mudgee with Tom Vegas saluting ahead of his stable companion Turned Down.
“We’ve had this race in mind for him (Tom Vegas) for some time,” said Mirfin.
“We had him in the Gloaming Stakes and some other nice races last year and we were contemplating running him in the Spring Champion Stakes, but I said to the owner, we’ll pull the pin and bring him back for the Country Championships.
“He’s had a flawless preparation. Both runs I wanted to run him in … he ran, so I’m just thrilled.
“Turned Down did well. He’s a really lovely horse … anyone would love to train him. From a year ago we thought he would make a nice Country Championship horse and here we are.”
The lightly raced Tom Vegas only raced twice as a two-year-old, winning on debut when totally unwanted in the betting at $51, and then following that up with a runner-up finish as a beaten $2.80 favourite. Both of those starts were over 1110m.
When Tom Vegas resumed after three-and-a-half months away from race action, the bar was set very much higher than the races he tackled in his first preparation. You could almost have called it something of a reconnaissance mission as his connections put his capability to the test … setting him for three Group 3 races at Rosehill out of four starts in his second preparation … the Domenico Stakes, the Ming Dynasty Quality and the Gloaming Stakes.
Tom Vegas finished unplaced in all three of those Group 3 races, but did have a third place finish in a Highway included in that four race preparation.
That was when Mirfin switched course and set his sights on a Country Championships qualifier for Tom Vegas.
Two warm-up runs brought him to Mudgee third-up and primed for the challenge which he carried off to perfection under a strong ride from Michael Cahill to salute at a starting price of $5.50.
Apprentice Zac Wadick played his part in giving Mirfin his dream result when getting Turned Down into second spot in a blanket, driving finish for the minor placings in which less than half-a-length separated the second, third and fourth runners across the line.
