Karla Bruni nails Winter Cup

GUTSY MARE Karla Bruni overcame a nail in her foot – and then looked flatfooted – before winning the $100,000 Winter Cup at Riccarton yesterday.

The victory ended a tough week for Awapuni trainer Roydon Bergerson, who left his home base early last week believing he had a top chance of claiming the flat feature on the first day of the Grand National carnival.

It wasn’t his intention to bring the daughter of Pins south, but he’d told his fellow owners that if she was to win the Whyte Handicap at Trentham, they would pay the late nomination fee.

Karla Bruni didn’t win the Whyte Handicap, but probably should have, so Bergerson was convinced Christchurch was where they should be.

But when he arrived during the middle of last week things took a turn for the worse, when Karla Bruni came off the float with a nail through her foot.

‘‘It’s not exactly what you want to have happen when you come a long way to try and win a big race,’’ Bergerson said.

‘‘She came off the float with the shoe over her hoof and the nail in her foot, so things initially weren’t looking all that good for us.

‘‘But we put a lot of hours into it and spent ages bathing it to try and get it right, and it looks like we might have done it right.’’

With that slight hiccup out of the way, Bergerson was then thrown another curve ball when jockey Danielle Johnson appeared to get busy on the six- year- old mare a long way from home.

‘‘It was about the 600-metre mark and Danielle was down pretty low and riding her out.

‘‘I thought we were going to run last. But true testament to the horse she never gives up and about halfway down I started getting a little excited.’’

Despite the unrelenting urges

from Johnson, Karla Bruni found another gear when the field straightened for the run home, and when angled down to the inside of the big field she began to kick.

‘‘I was out to it at the 600m and I was certain we were going to run last,’’ Johnson said.

‘‘But she just kept coming at them, it was quite an impressive effort really.’’

Leased by Bergerson, Craig Sheridan, Paul Humphries and leading jockey Opie Bosson, the partner of Johnson, Karla Bruni hadn’t run out of the money in six goes over the 1600m before yesterday’s effort.

‘‘ She always been good mile,’’ Bergerson said.

‘‘And she loves a wet track so everything suited her, really.

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‘‘It’s probably my biggest thrill in racing winning this. I’ve won a lot of good races, but to come down here and win a Group III with my own horse is a huge thrill.’’

And the good news for fans of the tough mare is that it’s likely she will back this week to contest the Winter Classic, provided she pulls up well over the next 24 hours.

The consistent Taurus was the best of the beaten brigade but was just over two lengths behind Karla Bruni, after being given a great run by Johnathon Parkes.

Te Akau mare Thrive finished into third and will also return Saturday.

Electronic Motion was the best of the locals after being given a grand trip. well this