Paniagua’s pin-up of the people
FROM a maiden to a Cairns Cup win in one preparation, Paniagua has certainly lived up to his title as “the people’s horse”.
Bought for just $600, Paniagua proved all those who said he could not back up and win the cup wrong, making it six wins on the trot on Friday at Cannon Park.
With Paniagua, Mareeba trainer Alex Malliff won the Guineas races in Townsville and Mackay earlier in the north Queensland carnival.
Some thought Malliff was crazy stepping up his emerging star in distance to 2100m against experienced older horses for Friday’s Cairns Cup as a four-year-old but he knew exactly what he was doing.
The four-year-old bay gelding shot his head out just before the line to edge out Best Hoffa and Guangzhou.
It was just a few months ago Malliff and Paniagua broke their maiden status on the bush non-TAB circuit — now they are champions of FNQ for 2020. “I knew I had something pretty smart after he won those couple of non-TAB races but now I know I have a very good horse,” Malliff said.
“A lot of people thought I should not start him today and I can see why they would say that, but the horse is fit, happy and he is good.
“I did not want to die wondering with what ifs.”
Paniagua has connections based all around north Queensland, stretching from Burdekin up to Cape York.
Malliff reckons Paniagua has become “the people’s horse” over the past few months.
A plumber by trade, Malliff’s mates at work all love the horse and follow him. When he is getting a coffee or beer in Mareeba, people that are not involved in racing will stop him and ask how the horse is going.
“So many people come up and say ‘congratulations’, it gets around, most of them back him and they have had some fun over the last few months,” he said.