It was no surprise to see the Kym Healy-trained Taipan Tommy take out the $30,000 Tennant Creek Cup (1600m) at Hagan Park on Saturday.
The seven-year-old gelding was one of the star performers during the recent Alice Springs Cup Carnival with three wins and a second from four Pioneer Park starts.
His previous start in the Red Centre was over 1600m (0-62) on April 30 – just his second start over the mile – and despite stepping up to open company for the first time he was the one to beat and started as the $2 betting site favourite.
For Healy, who is based in Strathalbyn in South Australia, it was his first success in the Tennant Creek Cup after winning the Darwin and Alice Springs Cups in the past with Pretty Blonde.
Taipan Tommy (Ianish Luximon), who won one of those races in Alice by 8.3 lengths, will feature in the NT once again in coming weeks with Healy confirming that the son of Dark Valley is off to the Top End for the Darwin Cup Carnival.
Sharing the early lead with Will Savage’s Sienna’s Choice (Emma Lines) and Dick Leech’s Lunch Session (Phillip Crich), Taipan Tommy made his move at the 600m approaching the final turn as Angela Forster’s Spielberg (Jade Hampson) started to sprout wings.
In the home straight and with roughly 400m to negotiate, Taipan Tommy kicked clear to win by 2.66 lengths from Spielberg ($4.60) – thus denying Forster her fourth Cup win – with Chris Pollard’s $9 hope All Hard Wood (Casey Hunter) 13 lengths adrift in third place in the six-horse field.
“Taipan Tommy is one out of the box and is in great form, and the Cup win just continues Kym Healy’s success in the Territory,” Andrew O’Toole, Thoroughbred Racing NT chief executive officer, said.
“Kym has been a long-time supporter of NT racing and is happy to travel long distances to race on the dirt and sand tracks at remote locations such as Tennant Creek.
“His ability to find the right horses to bring to the Territory is no fluke – he has been doing it for years.”
Healy (six) finished second behind Leech (10) as the leading trainer after five days of racing during the Alice Springs Carnival.
Healy almost won the other feature race on the Two Cup Race Day program when six-year-old gelding Mathematics (Luximon), once linked with the stable of former champion Alice Springs trainer Lisa Whittle, finished second behind the Paul Gardner-trained Glacier Grey (Dakota-Lee Gillett) in the $21,500 Denis Staunton Memorial Cup (1200m).
Little separated the six 0-70 runners with last-placed Mathematics, who boasts a superb record in Alice Springs, making his move off the back at the 700m, while Glacier Grey was content to settle fifth as Greg Connor’s Trystoff (Dan Morgan), Phil Cole’s Sedona (Lines) and Forster’s $2.80 favourite Zoumist (Hampson) held sway out in front.
Glacier Grey ($6.50) found a gap up the middle once turning for home and although little separated the four-year-old gelding, Mathematics, Sedona and Trystoff with 200m to go the son of Frosted went on to win his first race in the NT after three starts during the Alice Springs Carnival by a length and a half from Mathematics ($6) and Trystoff ($3.90).
After two thirds at Pioneer Park following his arrival from SA, Glacier Grey was a last fifth over 1200m (0-62) and for Gardner, who has battled health issues of late and who recently lost stable star Roughly to injury, victory made it two wins for the day.
Earlier, Fair Go (Gillett), happy to settle behind the leaders over 1100m (BM54), tasted success for the first time since making it back to back wins in the Alice last December by producing a big finish in the home straight.
Fair Go ($6), who last ran a place in February, breezed by Chris Nash’s Air Command (Mark Pegus) and Leech’s Superior Power (Crich) with 300m to go with Gardner also managing to quinella the race as $10 chance Sadler’s Song (Lek Maloney) swooped for second, while Connor’s $21 fancy Toffiato (Morgan) finished strongly for third.
Over the years, Tennant Creek Cup Day has produced its fair share of surprises and there was once again that element of unpredictability on Saturday.
Of the six races, an Alice Springs apprentice jockey was aboard the winning horse.
Apart from Gillett’s winning double, Luximon – second with six wins behind Hampson (8) as the leading rider during the Alice Springs Carnival – landed a treble and Lek Maloney booted home the other winner.
The trio were also making their Tennant Creek debut.
Gillett (17) and Luximon (16) now sit in third and fourth place behind Sonja Wiseman (26) and Jarrod Todd (21) in the 2022/23 Alice Springs and Provincial jockey’s premiership.
Apart from Healy, Alice Springs trainers won the five other races with Will Savage sealing a double and Dan Morgan winning his first race as a trainer at the seventh attempt.
Savage, who was at Morphettville last weekend to watch his NT marvel Savatoxl take out his second Group 3 McKay Stakes (1100m) in three years, was at Hagan Park with Redenzo Lad (Luximon) saluting over 1200m (Class 2) and Mi Mijo (Luximon) prevailing over 1450m (0-64).
Redenzo Lad ($13), who won his one and only other race last November in Alice, travelled wide for the early portion of the race and still had enough left in the tank to eclipse Healy’s $4.20 fancy Starlite Rebel (Hampson) and Gardner’s $19 contender Final Jedi (Gillett).
Mi Mijo ($3.80) hadn’t won a race since last August, but his form of late has been OK and after making a move on the leaders at the 800m he was in front with 600m to go and was in good shape turning for home before outclassing Healy’s $2.80 pop Paulo Pace (Hampson) and Leech’s $2.60 favourite Yowza (Crich), who gave the leaders far too much start.
To cap off an eventful day, Morgan, 29, who still rides despite debuting as a trainer on April 1, had cause to celebrate when Angelluccis (Maloney), who was sitting third for most of the trip in the 1000m maiden, joined Savage’s Paketta (Luximon) and Pollard’s Hello Hollywood (Hunter) on the outside in the home straight before sprinting clear at the 200m.
Angelluccis ($9.50), formerly trained by Lisa Whittle, went on to win by 5.42 lengths from Savage’s $1.55 favourite Pariah Conviction (Hampson) and Hello Hollywood ($9), and what made Maloney’s win even more special was that his dad Andrew, chairman of the Alice Springs Turf Club, owns the horse.
“It was a great day for the Alice Springs apprentices, especially for Ianish and Dakota-Lee, who won her first race in South Australia at Balaklava on Wednesday,” O’Toole, who was also the Hagan Park race-caller, said.
“It was also good to see Will Savage trackside as he prepares Savatoxl for what will hopefully be a second win in the Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide next weekend.
“I’m really happy for Dan Morgan and it was pleasing to see Paul Gardner have success, but most of all Mike Nash and the Tennant Creek Racing Club committee deserve praise for hosting an excellent meeting.”
2023 Tennant Creek Cup Race Replay – Taipan Tommy (1st)
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