In a triumphant outing at Invercargill’s Ascot Park Racecourse, Bruce Tapper, the skilled Timaru horseman, secured victory in the Winton Cup (1400m) on Sunday with his charge, Redford.
Drawing the coveted ace position, Redford, guided by the adept Southern jockey Tina Comignaghi, maintained a comfortable midfield position along the fence.
Comignaghi strategically manoeuvred the son of Raise The Flag around the 700m mark, deftly navigating the challenging Heavy 8 track conditions.
As they entered the home straight, Redford surged four-wide, seemingly poised to dominate the feature event. However, the Kelvin Tyler-trained Go Lotte made a late charge, and in a thrilling photo finish, Redford clinched the win by a nose.
“The horse has been very well, and he’s been a bit unlucky last start, and with Tina on, he had to be a good chance,” said Tapper.
Comignaghi, who notched up three runner-up placings earlier in the Invercargill meeting, boasts a strong record with the nine-year-old Redford.
The Winton Cup marked her third win aboard Tapper’s charge out of his five career victories.
“He’s just been a bit unlucky in those top races, he’s always thereabouts but never can win one of them, so that’s why I decided to come down to Ascot Park,” explained Tapper.
While there are no immediate plans for Redford, Tapper is considering targeting the Open 1400m event on the final Saturday of the upcoming New Zealand Cup Week carnival at Riccarton Park.
Redford, bred by Tapper and his wife Karen out of their four-win mare Ruby Red, has now accumulated over $120,000 in prizemoney for the Timaru couple.
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