Copycat win for Copy That in Cup
Copy That has done it again.
The race favourite from the North Island repeated the success of last year by winning the $600,000 New Zealand Trotting Cup in Christchurch yesterday.
Driven by Blair Orange, the Ray Greentrained Copy That became a dual Cup winner by sailing home to win the 3200m race at Addington Raceway with relative ease.
Having led most of the way, Copy That held off Majestic Cruiser by three-quarters of a length. Spankem and Akuta finished third and fourth, having confirmed their placings after a steward’s inquiry.
Last year Green was forced to watch the horse win from his Lincoln Farm base because of the pandemic. This time he was at the track to witness the victory, and paid tribute to the horse that was driven to perfection by Orange.
’’You nailed it,’’ Green, 77, said when a Trackside TV presenter noted it was clear that Copy That meant a great deal to him. ‘‘It is much nicer to, sort of, witness it. It’s great.’’
When asked what he was thinking when Orange guided the horse to the front of the field at the start of the race, Green said he was confident of success.
‘‘I thought he would win. And, yeah, he has won well. I’m pretty happy. He is pretty tough. He has got it all. He is the real deal.’’
Orange was equally delighted, after guiding the horse to a second consecutive victory.
‘‘It hasn’t really quite sunk in,’’ Orange said. ‘‘We got the start really well. We found the front, we had to do a little bit to get there. But then we sort of controlled it for a good period before we had a little bit of speed outside us.’’
Last year Copy That also led most of the way. For the repeat performance the horse settled easily into his work, and as he turned for home he looked set to defend his title. The punters who backed the five-year-old weren’t to be disappointed.