Megablast blitzes Caloundra Cup
WELLINGTON: The disappointment of missing a start in the Brisbane Cup was quickly forgotten when Megablast won the Caloundra Cup at the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.
The Shinko King gelding had been aimed at the Brisbane Cup as his main mission during the Queensland winter carnival, but a knock to a sesamoid 48 hours out from the race put paid to his tilt at the title.
Trainer Nigel Tiley and owners John and Di Bowbyes were quick to regroup and Saturday’s feature staying event became their major focus.
‘‘He went to bed on the Wednesday before the Brisbane Cup as good as gold, but he may have become cast in his box during the night, as the next morning he had a lump the size of an egg on one of his sesamoids,’’ Tiley said.
‘‘We did all we could to get him to the race but we just ran out of time and had to scratch him. Thankfully he had plenty of residual fitness on his side so I could back off him and then plan for what we would do next.
‘‘I sat down with John and Di and we looked at our options and decided we would have a crack at the Caloundra Cup.’’
While capable of performing at a high level on most track conditions, Megablast excels when there is rain around to loosen up the surface. Heavy rain on the Sunshine Coast from Monday through to Wednesday brought a smile to Tiley’s face as he put the finishing touches on his charge during the week.
‘‘He is at his best when the tracks are wet and loose and that rain we got was just perfect for him,’’ Tiley said.
‘‘I was pretty confident I had him near peak after his setback so all we needed was some luck during the running and he was going to be a big chance.’’
Megablast got that luck courtesy of a peach of a ride from expat Kiwi Damian Browne, who had the grey idling along handy to the speed before putting a break on his rivals early in the run home to win by three lengths.
‘‘We were very lucky to get Damian on board, as they call him the King of Caloundra for good reason,’’ Tiley said.
‘‘He knows every inch of the place and it was a lovely ride to get the horse to relax and conserve his energy until it mattered.’’
While delighted with the win, Tiley believes there is still plenty of petrol left in the tank for Megablast, who will now tackle the group 3 Queen’s Cup Trophy at the same venue in a fortnight.
‘‘He came through the race well so we are going to bring him back here for the twomile race in a fortnight,’’ Tiley said.
‘‘We know he gets the two miles and I expect he will carry around the same weight to what he won with on the weekend.
‘‘If we can get similar track conditions, he would have to be a big show of a repeat performance.’’