Up Cups in bid to find old form at Longford

THE line-up in today’s Longford Cup is one of the best in the race’s history with top weight Up Cups giving the event a touch of class.

Up Cups was the winner of the Hobart and Launceston cups two seasons ago and he followed up with another attempt after which he succumbed to a leg injury that had him sidelined for almost a year.

The gelding suffered a couple of cracks in his off-side pedal bone, but all it required was time to heal and some tender loving care from his owners Rick and Tina Polley.

The gelding was trained by Dave Brunton when he won both of the major cups, but the horse is now in the care of talented horsewoman Rhonda Mangan who has held a trainer’s licence for a short while.

Up Cups has had four starts for Mangan that comprise two in Tasmania in October and as many interstate, with the latest a 10th of 12 at Werribee over 2000m on December 10.

“The pedal bone injury is all healed and all of the scans have shown it is all clear, but now we have to wait for the horse to let down properly and that is a confidence thing,” Mangan said.

“He won a trial over 1400m in Hobart before he went to Melbourne and that helped his confidence a bit, but he still hasn’t fully let go in a race.

“The horse’s owners were very keen to get him to the Longford Cup and they have another runner Pontypaul also engaged at the meeting so the whole family will be there to make a day of it.

“It would be brilliant if Up Cups could find his form and win the cup because he was very unlucky not to win it in 2016 when second to Miss It and a Bit.

“But he then went on to win the Hobart and Launceston cups and Rick Polley is hoping the horse can have another crack at the Hobart Cup.”

While Up Cups brings a lot of class to this year’s race the opposition is reasonably strong and includes Beaufort Lad and Smoke ‘N’ Whisky from the powerful John Blacker stable, last-start Launceston winner Kanji and improving mare Flash Missile, which gets in on the minimum weight of 54kg.

The Longford Cup has been Beaufort Lad’s first main mission since he started this campaign while Smoke ‘N’ Whisky has taken time to come to hand and Blacker is confident both of his runners will acquit themselves well.

Craig Newitt will partner Beaufort Lad while apprentice Sherry Barr has been booked to partner Smoke ‘N’ Whisky.

Kanji impressed with a bold win in a strong benchmark 72 handicap over 2100m in Launceston last Wednesday week.