By Adam Hamilton
There is life left in Cash N Flow’s old legs yet.
The nine-year-old led throughout for driver Jack Callaghan and easily won the Group 3 Bulli Cup at Menangle on Saturday night.
Amazingly, it was his 25th win from just 51 starts at Menangle.
Other winners well-known to Kiwis on the Menangle card were Bad To The Bone in the opening race, Town Echo for Jack Trainor in race three and Jason Grimson’s exciting Fire Fox in race four.
Exciting former Kiwi trotting mare Funky Monkey returned from a horror Inter Dominion series with a first-up win for KerryAnn and Robbie Morris.
She spent some earlier petrol and kept rolling in front and just did enough to hang on a win in a 1:55.1 mile.
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This time last year, former Kiwi Texas Tiger was one of Western Australia’s most exciting pacers.
He’d just posted his eighth win in as many starts since joining Gary Hall Sr’s stable.
Then came the setbacks.
But, as Hall Sr does better than most, he has nursed Texas Tiger back to winning form, at just his second start on the comeback trail.
The American Ideal gelding was sent straight to the front by driver Gary Hall Jr and always looked in control to win the free-for-all at Gloucester Park last Friday.
The other “star” of the night was Ryan Bell’s three-year-old Swingband, who smashed the clock and his rivals winning the Australian Gold WA Bullion final by 15.5m in a 1min54.3sec mile rate for 1730m.
The son of the ill-fated Alta Christiano is a pacer going places.
So too is Shane Young’s brilliant filly Wonderful To Fly, who won the fillies’ Gold Bullion final by 20.7m in a slicker 1min53.6sec mile rate.
The powerhouse Team Bond had another big night with a treble, headed by gifted Kiwi-bred four-year-old Dont Bother Me None, who boasts 13 wins from just 23 starts.
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Exciting three-year-old Catch A Wave has come through his dominant first-up win well.
Trainer Andy Gath confirmed he would go straight to a heat of the Australian Gold 3YO series at Bendigo on May 5 with the $125,000 Gold Bullion final at Melton nine days later.
“He’s come through the first-up well. It was great to get it under his belt,” Gath said.
Catch A Wave and recent NSW Derby winner Leap To Fame are the early favourites for the world’s richest race, the $2.13 million Eureka, which was launched in Sydney last week.
Australia’s first slot race will be run for the first time at Menangle in September, next year.
The Grant Dixon-trained Leap To Fame is about to return to work with the Queensland Derby, NSW Breeders Challenge, Breeders Crown and Victoria Derby on his agenda.
Fans can’t wait for the first clash of Leap To Fame and Catch A Wave, but that’s not likely until the Victoria Derby series in October.
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The Emma Stewart – Clayton Tonkin stable’s recent dominance continued in the Group 2 Mildura Cup.
The power combo has two runners and snared the quinella with comeback pacer Phoenix Prince upstaging favourite Our Millionaire.
In a tactical affair, Jodi Quinlan won the race on Phoenix Prince when she was able to get in front of Our Millionaire and surge around the field to take the lead in the middle stages.
It was a huge training triumph for Stewart and Tonkin given Phoenix Prince, now an eight-year-old, had two years away from the track after the 2020 Ballarat Cup.
After five encouraging placings in seven runs on the comeback trail, last night was his first win since returning.
“This one is special. He’s a real stable favourite,” Stewart said.
Earlier in the night, Stewart’s emerging five-year-old Cant Top This smashed Mildura’s 2180m track record by winning what was effectively the Cup “consolation”.
Despite having to burn hard to find the lead, driver Mark Pitt let Cant Cop This roll his last three splits in 28.6, 28.3 and 28.1sec to win by 23.7m in a flying 1min55.1sec mile rate.
It took 0.5sec off the record set by Major Crocker back on June 29, 2016.
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Former Kiwi South Islander Deus Ex marched through the grades and is now a major open-class player in Queensland.
The Changeover gelding led throughout and was superbly rated by Brendan Barnes to hold-off a very gallant Turn It Up in a ripper 1660m free-for-all at Albion Park.
They went a 1:51.9 sec mile rate, capped by closing quarters of 27.2 and 28.2sec.
Turn It Up’s effort to get within 2.3m in those closing splits from worse than midfield was massive.
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but he’s not only as sound as I’ve ever had, but he’s going better too,” trainer-driver Shane Graham said.
Deus Ex, trained by Jack Butler, has won nine races since coming from NZ and now boasts 15 wins and 22 placings from just 55 starts and almost $150,000 in earnings.
