Law Legend claims Eddie Evison Memorial cup race
From p44 From only 48 starts, “San Carlo” has won 28 races and nearly $470,000 in prizemoney for his owners, the Eichorn family.
Although the appearance of “San Carlo” dominated the Pacing Cup, the $14,5000 Eddie Evison Memorial Trotters Cup was a more open race for punters.
A confident front running drive by reinsman Greg Leight with 14/1 shot “Law Legend” paid dividends, with the veteran six-yearold gelding running out a twometre winner.
From 113 starts, “Law Legend” has won 13 races for trainer Greg Leight.
Gippsland trainers Gary and Debbie Quinlan won two races on Sunday.
“Rocknroll Pearl” will be aimed at feature events in New South Wales after an easy win in the final heat of the Vicbred Platinum Mares Sprint Championship.
The four-year-old has qualified for the $40,000 final at Melton on Saturday night.
Three-year-old Sahara Tiger took on the older horses and won in the third race.
Cranbourne’s Jayne Davies also collected two wins on the card with “Alliyahs Choice” and “Betterman Stride”, while Iona horseman Michael Hughes produced the consistent trotter “Express Yourself” for another victory, in what was a good day for local trainers.
“Huli Nien” was very well backed to win the Rob Lee Warragul Guineas for trainer Jess Tubbs and driver Greg Sugars.
Although crowd numbers appeared to not increase on last year, the on-course TAB holdings were up, and there was an increase in the number of horses racing at the Cup meeting this year.
Given the amount of planning that goes into such events, club officials were disappointed at another small field for the Pacing Bowl Cup.
Having seen fields of six and seven horses for their flagship race in the last two years, it is a sharp decline on when fields of 12 or more starters would line up under handicap conditions.
The decision to run all Victorian Pacing Cup races as mobile start events instead of handicaps has divided the industry in recent years.
Regardless of who is wrong or right in the argument, club and state officials need to avoid a repeat of a small Cup field at Warragul again next year.
That and other programming issues on the day, such as clashes with similar events the night before in Melbourne, one local horse being floated to Echuca to race on the Easter Sunday night instead of the Warragul meeting, and at least six local horses being ineligible for the day’s events, need to be addressed as part of an overall review of the Cup meeting.