Cup onetwo does South proud
THERE was a southern quinella in Sydney on Saturday as two horses with connections from the region went first and second in the Sydney Cup.
The $A980,000 ($NZ1.02 million) Sydney Cup was won by Etah James, who finished a neck ahead of a fastfinishing The Chosen One.
Etah James was sired by Raise the Flag, who stands at White Robe Lodge on the Taieri Plain.
The Chosen One was bred and is partowned by Southland brothers Tony, Ray, Joe and Martin Dennis.
For White Robe Lodge manager Wayne Stewart, it was a real thrill to see Etah James win the race and give Raise the Flag his first group 1 victory.
‘‘That means two out of the last three Sydney Cups run have been won by progeny of White Robe Lodge stallions. Etah James was sired by Raise The Flag and the 2018 winner, WhoShotthebarman, was sired by Yamanin Vita,’’ he said.
‘‘It was a great result for us and all down here, really. Everyone was watching, as it is about the only thing on.
‘‘Raise the Flag is from a phenomenal family. Raise The
Flag became the fourth son of his Blue Hen dam, Hasili, to sire a group 1 winner.
‘‘With everything going on at the moment, it was great to see something really positive and put a smile on some faces.’’
Jockey Glen Boss told Sydney media he was confident of Etah James producing a careerbest effort.
‘‘Her work on Tuesday was
exceptional, actually,’’ Boss said.
‘‘I said . . . this will be the best 301 shot I ride in a group 1 race. I wasn't expecting to beat the English horse [Young Rascal], to be honest, but I was expecting to be in the 123.
‘‘When I saw that most of them were off the bridle and chasing at the 600m and I was coming up underneath and I thought ‘I'm going to run very well’.’’
Stewart said good stayers seemed to come out of the Taieri and had an impressive record in Australia.
Raise the Flag was now 15 and was still in good heart, he said.
Etah James, who was a 141 shot for the Sydney Cup, was out of Etah, who was owned by Matamatabased Mark Lupton, his wife, Cath, and Sydneybased lawyer Terry Reid and Londonbased lawyer Gary Howes.
Lupton, who has also trained the horse, had almost abandoned a trip to the Sydney Cup after a flight fell through but he decided to take the 7yrold across the Tasman when a later flight became available. He had to remain in NZ because of Covid19 restrictions.
He is now eyeing up a trip to the Melbourne Cup with her.