Off to Ararat...

Veteran trainer Neville Kennedy has taken out this year’s Mount Wycheproof Cup with the only active member of his stable, Don’t Make Me Wait, storming to a dominant victory in the 1800-metre event.

Given a patient ride by jockey John Keating, the seven-year-old gelding exploded in the home straight to put his rivals to the sword and record a two-anda-half-length win.

It was a fitting feature on a fantastic card, which saw full fields do battle on an excellent racing surface.

We are now less than 360 days from being able to get back to the Wyche races – count down the sleeps.

This week the country cup circuit continues in the Wimmera with the Ararat Gold Cup on Sunday.

The $70,000 feature will headline a program that also includes the $80,000 Ararat Bowl and a competitive undercard, making it the richest spring event in the region.

The card also features a 3800-metre race that is a qualifying event for The Jericho, a 4600-metre war of attrition on November 28 at Warrnambool. Tune into Racing.com or Sky Racing to catch all the action on Sunday.

Wimmera spotlight

It was another successful week for Wimmera connections, booting winners home everywhere from Morphettville to Mortlake.

Leading hoop Dean Yendall had a day out at Mortlake on Sunday, steering four of the day’s seven winners home in a dominant display on their cup day.

Yendall started brightly by guiding the first winner on the card home, then went bang late in the program to ride the last three winners to cap off a clinical day for the Horsham jock.

Just 24 hours earlier Stawell trainer Andrew Bobbin tasted metropolitan success with his six-year-old mare Riotous Mischief.

Border-hopping Bobbin loaded just one runner on the float for the Adelaide sojourn but came home with riches, claiming a benchmark-68 race at Morphettville.

The win completed a hat-trick for the daughter of Casino Prince after notching wins at Mildura and Ballarat earlier in the month.

Ones to watch

It was ‘fill-up’ for followers of this column at Mortlake last Sunday, with the first two winners on the card declared as horses to follow.

Tom Dabernig’s Launch Pad won the opening event by a stunning 10 lengths at an odds-on quote, parlaying into Doug Whitworth’s Onemoredance, taking out race two at a more attractive starting price of $13.

Long may it continue.