Unheralded speedster Mobile Legend produced an epic win in the $74,335 Group 2 Viatek Warragul Cup final (460m) – second leg of the Gippsland Festival of Racing – on Friday night.
A ‘legend of the loam’ in his own right, Mobile Legend – trained by Daryl Brennan of Napoleons (15km from Ballarat) – became a part of country cup folklore with a flying 25.32sec victory in the $47,000 to-the-winner event.
It was a race record, slicing 0.02sec off To The Galo’s 25.34sec win in 2016 – at the time a new track record.
And it was just over 2L off the existing track record of 25.187sec, set by former superstar Shima Shine in a heat of the 2021 Warragul Cup.
Mobile Legend – an ‘unlikely hero’ from last week’s heats with a 25.46sec (Best) display – drifted from $3.40 out to $5.50 in notching his 15th win, including four of his past five, from 33 starts.
Contesting his first ‘black type’ final, the son of 2018 Warragul Cup winner Aston Dee Bee and prolific producing brood matron Weeping Lass catapulted his stakes to $118,910.
Mobile Legend defeated Titan Blazer ($12.40) – which finished seventh in last year’s final – by 2.2L, with Money Owes ($13.00) – which was chasing his eighth win from his past 10 starts – a further 1.1L away third.
The favourites ‘curse’ continued with Landyn Bale ($2.20) finishing fourth. Only three punters’ elects have saluted from the past 13 Warragul Cups – 2011 El Grand Senor ($2.40); 2018 Aston Dee Bee ($2.30); 2019 Dyna Hunter ($3.40).
Other feature winners on a sensational ‘middle pin’ of the Gippsland Festival of Racing were:
$11,500 Viatek Cup Night Match Race (460m) – Paua Of Buddy ($1.70) – 25.46sec (T: Steven White)
$10,165 Sportsbet Distance Cup (680m) – Ariarne Bale ($1.60F) – 38.84sec (T: Daniel Gibbons)
WATCH: MOBILE LEGEND (B3) proves too ‘mobile’ for his rivals with a sizzling 25.32sec race record win in the Warragul Cup.
