Weir unstoppable
WARRNAMBOOL was renamed Weirnambool by punters such was master trainer Darren Weir’s domination of the Victorian carnival.
Weir smashed all carnival records, winning 14 of 30 races over the three days to beat his record of eight set last year.
Weir said he hoped to train “half-a-dozen winners” and he was amazed by his success.
He trained four winners on the opening day and backed up with successive hauls of five winners.
These included three feature races – the Warrnambool Cup with High Church yesterday and the Galleywood Hurdle (Renew) and the Wangoom Handicap (Ulmann) on Wednesday.
Yesterday Weir also set a Commonwealth training record for winners in a season.
His mark of 352 broke his record of 348 winners last season, despite three months remaining of the season.
Weir has trained 134 more winners than the next best stable in the land, the HayesDabernig outfit.
Yesterday Weir trained Try Four to win the Novice Hurdle, Stylish Miss to win the Fillies and Mares Benchmark 78, Craven Image to win the Benchmark 64, Nikitas to win The Standard Handicap and High Church to win the Warrnambool Cup.
“If I can train 365 winners for the season then that’s one a day. Good luck to anyone who can better that as they’ll have to work hard to do it,” he said.
Weir said the ability to swap his horses between his Warrnambool and Ballarat stables was a huge aid to his success.
He also said he had been a beneficiary of Peter Moody’s retirement from training.
“He sent me some good horses, such as Ulmann who won the Wangoom Handicap, but also many of his owners have joined the stable which has been a big help,” he said.
REGINA Coeli won her second Grand Annual Steeplechase yesterday when she led for most of the 5500m.
The margin, over No Song No Supper and I’ll’Ava’Alf, was two lengths at the finish.
“She’s a star,’’ said winning jockey John Allen, who confessed he thought Regina Coeli was “finished’’ after the 2016 Annual. She had won the marathon test a year earlier.
Trainer Ciaron Maher was full of praise: “She’s just a great horse. To win it twice is unbelievable.’’