Willby shapes up for Cup
UNDER-RATED middle distance galloper Willby Rules continued his love affair with the Devonport track by scoring an emphatic win in the Golden Mile over 1650m yesterday.
The win gave the Nigel Schuuring-trained gelding a ballot-free entry into next month’s $100,000 Devonport Cup (1880m), a race in which he finished sixth last January.
Willby Rules was the bestbacked of the 14 Golden Mile contenders, firming from $7 to start as the $4.80 second elect behind the Bill Ryan-trained mare Speedonova ($3.30).
Willby Rules was ridden by Bulent Muhcu, who had the gelded son of West Quest settled just worse than midfield and one-off with cover.
The leader Kool Kash had a five-length break at the top of the home straight, but when Muhcu called on Willby Rules for the big effort he powered home to score by a long neck from Eastender, which made his run at the same time as the winner, with Kool Kash almost a length away third.
“This horse hasn’t won anywhere else so he is a genuine track specialist, which is why we’ve targeted the Devonport Cup as his main mission this time in,” Schuuring said.
“We ran him in the race last time and he ran a creditable sixth, but he has really matured and the way he won today I’d say he is going to be a big chance to take out the big race next month.” TRAINER-JOCKEY Siggy Carr gave punters a headache when her stable newcomer Merciabelle scored a shock win in the Goodstone Group Accommodation Class 1 Handicap over 1150m.
It was Carr’s fourth winner as a trainer and arguably the best as the former David Hayes-trained mare showed courage to hold out the oddson favourite Kwai ($1.45) in a torrid battle over the last 100m.
Merciabelle won a race on the synthetic at Pakenham in Victoria, which is why Carr targeted the Devonport race as her first-up assignment.
“When she arrived I was aware she wasn’t the best track worker so I took her down to the beach a few times and that changed her whole attitude,” Carr said. “Her owner Ben Kirkup opted to send her to me instead of sending her north.”