ANOTHER WINNER FOR DYER
TRAINER Neil Dyer and jockey Vanessa Arnott played key roles in the $200,000 Carlton Mid Darwin Cup (2000m) at Fannie Bay last Monday.
Dyer trained the winning horse Royal Request and Arnott finished second on the Jason Manning-trained Saturday Sorcerer.
Dyer and Arnott teamed up yesterday to win the $30,000 Carlton Mid Katherine Cup (1700m) at the Jim Jackson Racecourse.
Mywordsaidthebird ($7), who finished unplaced in four starts over 1600m during the Carnival, produced a scintillating burst at the 600m to secure a commanding victory.
Before arriving in the Top End, Mywordsaidthebird was considered a Darwin Cup hope after winning the Deniliquin Cup (1600m) on June 3.
“His form in Darwin wasn’t all that bad and he clearly has ability after that Deniliquin win,” Arnott said.
“Neil suggested that I sit back today instead of going forward early, and it worked.
“Once I hit the front at the 600m he was never going to lose.
“I’ve never been so happy to run second in a race following the Darwin Cup – winning today caps off a good week.”
Once the six runners settled and exited the home straight, Patrick Johnston’s Delta D’Or (Jason Lyon) shot away to lead by six lengths.
The four-year-old ($9), who won the NT Guineas (1600m) in Alice Springs in April, extended that lead to eight lengths by the 1000m.
Inevitably, Delta D’Or hit the wall and it was Myword- saidthebird who started winding up at the 700m.
Arnott, a late rider for the Katherine Cup meeting, kept her charger going in the home straight to post an impressive three length win.
The two hot pots – Sheila Arnold’s Quantum Dot (Paul Shiers) and Dyer’s Bel Sir (Jarrod Todd) – had their chances, but the winner was too good.
Quantum Dot ($2.40 fav), who had two wins, a second and a third from four starts during the Carnival, and the honest Bel Sir ($2.50) finished second and third, respectively.
“Delta D’Or certainly went hard early and that ended up helping Mywordsaidthebird,” Dyer said.
“I had planned to run him in the Darwin Cup, but we just couldn’t find the right lead up races for him.
“I was running out of time, so I decided to run him in the Katherine Cup because he would have got a bigger weight had I run him in the other 1700m race today.”
There was a slight query in regards to the condition of Mywordsaidthebird at the barriers before it was declared a starter.