Trainer’s double take in Launceston Cup bid

TOP Victorian trainer Daren Weir has always made a point of trying to find the right horses with the right weight to win cups in Tasmania.

And today he will be relying on either Bondeiger or Andrea Mantegna to deliver the goods in the Group 3 $250,000 Sky Racing Launceston Cup.

Weir has won four Hobart Cups that started with True Courser in 2006 and last year he snared his first Launceston Cup with Big Duke.

While neither of his runners appear to have the ability of Big Duke, both are in top form and even the corporate bookmakers can’t split them.

Andrea Mantegna carried the minimum of 54kg in the Hobart Cup in which he finished a longneck second to Pretty Punk, but Weir’s horse was penalised 1kg for the effort so he will carry 55kg in today’s race.

But he will meet Pretty Punk much better at the weights because the mare copped a 2.5kg penalty and will have to carry 58kg to take out the cups double.

Bondeiger is the new kid in town but he arrives in the state with impeccable form over 2400m and beyond and he has flown under the handicapper’s radar and will carry the minimum 54kg.

“I find it hard to split my two because there are lots of upsides with both horses,” Weir said.

“But in these type of races I’ve found that one kilogram can make the difference between winning and losing so Bondeiger has that advantage.”

Both horses have been in the state since last Friday and they were given a good hitout on the grass at the Launceston track last Sunday.

One of Weir’s long-serving employees Bonnie Kingsley has been with the cups horses since they arrived and she too says both are in great shape.

“I can’t fault either of them in their work but they are totally different racehorses,” Kingsley said.

“Bondeiger races up-front while Andrea Mantegna prefers to settle back in the field but they both prefer a bit of cut out of the ground so the rain that is forecast … won’t bother either of them.”

Bondeiger comes off a win at Moonee Valley two starts back over 2500m and a last-start victory at Morphettville over 2400m just over two weeks ago that is good enough form to win a Launceston Cup.

Berisha deserves top weight because he is the class runner of the capacity field of 16. The John Sadler-trained gelding has won a Mornington Cup and been competitive at Group 1 and Group 2 level but he has had two bowed tendons that kept him sidelined for some time.

It will be a weight-carrying record for a mare if Pretty Punk can win. The best of the locals is a tossup between Fastnet Dragon that placed third in the Hobart Cup and Craig Newitt’s mount Eastender, which was a victim of a slowly run Hobart Cup.

VICTORIAN trainer Darren Weir will be relying on either Bondeiger or Andrea Mantegna to deliver the goods in today’s Group 3 $250,000 Sky Racing Launceston Cup. Bondeiger is the new kid in town but he arrives in the state with impeccable form over 2400m and beyond.