Parkes rules in Prince’s Cup win
JOHNATHAN Parkes turned his red hot riding form into another feature race win at Trentham yesterday.
The Waverley jockey ventured north to Ellerslie for feature wins over the holidays.
Group II wins on Volpe Veloce and St Jean and a career highlight Group I on Start Wondering preceded Saturday’s Listed Marton Cup success aboard Alinko Prince with another top class ride.
The son of Alamosa had run second in each of his three previous races and Parkes was of the opinion he wasn’t quite trying right to the line.
The key was to come with the last run and snatch victory late in the race.
A slight gear change and Parkes’ carefully executed plan saw the major slice of the $55,000 stake heading home to Marton along with the shiny cup.
The gear change was the removal of blinkers and the addition of visor blinkers in the hope the 5-year-old gelding would see his oppositions coming.
It worked and gave Marton trainer Fraser Auret a massive thrill to win his hometown feature.
‘‘We have a big enough mortgage there,’’ he said. ‘‘So it will be nice to have a cup to say we’ve won something.’’
The Marton Cup is historically run at Awapuni but the meeting was transferred to Trentham after track problems temporarily closed the Palmerston North track.
Auret will make the journey south again in a fortnight as he chases an even bigger and shinier, and considerably more valuable prize.
‘‘We thought this would be a lovely pipe-opener for the Wellington Cup,’’ he said.
The $250,000 Group III Wellington Cup over 3200m is the race Auret wants with the John Bromley-owned stayer he describes as a ‘‘beautiful, big, raw horse’’ who has won six from 22 and around $100,000.
He will clash with Saturday’s runner-up Jacksstar in the race.
The Manawatu Cup winner at his previous start, Jacksstar will benefit from Saturday’s race and has been set for the 3200m feature.
‘‘He’s a true blue two-miler,’’ his trainer Gary Vile said. ‘‘He’s an old-fashioned stayer and they are hard to find.’’
Two starts back Jacksstar narrowly beat Alinko Prince in the Chalmers Handicap (3200m) at Trentham.
The Marton Cup was the day’s feature race at but arguably the highlight of the day came a few races earlier. Race Images
A powerful galloper named Shadow Fox stamped himself as a horse going places with an emphatic victory in the Premier Open over 1400m.
With a Rating of 72, the son of unfashionable sire Keeninsky was taking on several higher rated performers but that didn’t matter as he thrashed them by four and a-half lengths.
The 6-year-old’s cause was aided by a masterly front-running Robbie Hannam ride which took the lightly-tried freegoer’s record to four wins from 11 starts for Hawera trainer and part-owner Steve Gulliver.
‘‘He had a lung infection which cost us a couple of races,’’ Gulliver said. ‘‘But he’s just needed time - he’s a pretty good horse, he’s pretty quick.’’
Too quick for Saturday’s chasing pack headed home by Group performer Charmont in second place.
Shadow Fox ran 1:23 for the 1400m considerably quicker than two other races over the distance on the programme. JACK and Jo-Ann Gordon’s lengthy road trip from Invercargill to Greymouth with veteran stayer The Gordonian has proven to be worth every kilometre.
The Ascot Park trainers have been rewarded with a convincing five length win in the $25,000 Recreation Hotel Greymouth Cup at Omoto yesterday.
The eight-year-old son of Remind, who was clearly the most comfortable in the heavy 11 going, brought up win eight in his 60th start.
Just six runners headed to the starting gates and it soon became a three horse race between favourite Kaharau, Thursday’s Reefton Cup winner Overtheriver and The Gordonian.
In the hands of apprentice Gosen Jogoo, The Gordonian found another gear in the straight and bolted away to win with ease as his rivals struggled in the heavy going.
Kaharau battled on for second with Overtheriver a further one and a quarter lengths behind in third.
Whanganui trainer Kevin Myers, who dominated the opening day of the West Coast circuit with five wins at Reefton on Thursday, picked up three wins with Van Gogh, Tiebreaker, both ridden by Sarah MacNab, and Jonquil in the hands of Terry Moseley.
MacNab also rode Two Thirty to victory for Byerley Park trainers Shaun and Emma Clotworthy to give her three winners for the day.
The Clotworthys picked up a second training win with Brilleaux.
Moseley picked up a second winner aboard Overnightsensation to move him to 994 career winners - just six away from the magic milestone of a 1000 winners.
Jockeys wore black armbands in the final race of the day as a mark of respect to their former colleague Rebecca Black who died from injuries suffered in a race fall at Gore late last year.
Point Proven, the horse Black was riding when the fatal fall occurred, made its first return to the races in the last race on the card of the day at the Greymouth Jockey Club meeting and finished ninth in the field of 10.
The West Coast circuit continues with Hokitika on Wednesday and finishes at the iconic Kumara course on Saturday.
‘ We thought this would be a lovely pipe-opener for the Wellington Cup’ TRAINER: FRASER AURET