Battle-hardened stayer Noble Knight (NZ) (Ghibellines) is set to deal to some unfinished business in Dunedin after digging deep to take out the Baillie & Lewis Pharmacy Invercargill Gold Cup (2600m) at Ascot Park on Saturday.
The $60,000 race was the first Cup win for the seven-year-old, who has previously competed with credit in staying features on both sides of the Tasman.
Noble Knight was beaten by two necks when he finished third in the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m) at Wingatui last summer. Since then he has run fifth in the Gr.3 New Zealand Cup (3200m) at Riccarton and a solid eighth in the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m) in Victoria.
Noble Knight warmed up for the Invercargill Gold Cup with a close fifth in the Marlborough Cup (2000m) at Riccarton on January 25, and he clearly relished the step up to 2600m on Saturday.
The Invercargill Gold Cup became a true test of stamina, with Mahoe setting a fast pace through the first half of the race before The Tui Toiler worked forward and took over down the back straight. Those efforts took their toll as that pair eventually dropped out to finish last and second-last.
That was an ideal scenario for Noble Knight, who settled into a smooth rhythm in sixth spot, one off the rail. Jockey Billy Jacobson allowed his mount to stride forward coming down the side of the track, surging past a tiring The Tui Toiler just before the home turn.
Theoden went with Noble Knight and appeared to get his head in front early in the straight, but Noble Knight summoned another big effort to claw his way back in front and win by a head.
Noble Knight has now had 47 starts for seven wins, 13 seconds, six thirds and $292,174 in stakes. The Invercargill Gold Cup broke something of a win drought for the Ghibellines gelding, whose previous victory was in the Grand Casino (2200m) at Wingatui in December of 2023.
“That was a very good, tough win today,” trainer and part-owner Sandy Cunningham said. “Even though he hadn’t won a race for a while, he’s just such a consistent horse and he’s been racing so well all the way through.”
Cunningham is now keen to go back to Wingatui and attempt to go two better in the Positive Signs + Print Dunedin Gold Cup. That 2400m feature will be one of three black-type races staged during the inaugural Otago Classics Day on March 1.
“We’ll go to the Dunedin Gold Cup again now,” Cunningham said. “He ran a really close third in the race last year, and we’re pretty keen to go back and have another crack at it.”