Box four will hold no fears for Mark and Lisa Delbridge when Landyn Bale lines up in Saturday night’s $458,500 Group 1 Sportsbet Australian Cup Final (525m) at The Meadows.
The couple have combined to train six Group 1 winners across their careers, three of which have come from the blue number four alley, including a stunning last-to-first victory by Yachi Bale in the Melbourne Cup last November.
“If he can get out to a 2-3 length lead in the back straight they might have a hard time catching him.”
“Four is actually our lucky number,” Lisa Delbridge said. “Yachi Bale won the Melbourne Cup from box four, and (the late) Paul and Jan Wheeler, whose son Brendan bred Yachi Bale and Landyn Bale, got married on the fourth of the fourth (April), so it’s their lucky number as well.”
A lightning-quick beginner, Landyn Bale has amassed 15 wins from 28 starts, with the Australian Cup his toughest test yet.
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“He’ll need to lead from the outset but he has great early pace and he uses his mid-race speed to break up the opposition. If he can get out to a 2-3 length lead in the back straight they might have a hard time catching him,” Mark added.
Snaring a Melbourne Cup/Australian Cup double in the one racing year would certainly elevate the Delbridge team into rare air.
WATCH: LANDYN BALE (B8) lands an Australian Cup heat, staving off KELSEY BALE (B2) in 29.82sec.
