Sale trainer Andrew Perdon is hoping that leading Top End jockey Sonja Logan can weave her magic aboard Starspangled Baby in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) at Fannie Bay on Monday.
Logan’s local knowledge could pay off with the seven-year-old mare, an $18 hope with online bookmakers, drawing gate 11 in the 12-horse field.
“From that gate, you can provide your jockey with all the instructions in the world, but once the gates open it’s all going to be up to Sonja,” Perdon said.
“Naturally, she’s a bit of an on-pacer, but if they go helter skelter there’s no point being five wide and going with them, so we’ll just have to take our medicine and ride for a bit of luck.
“The widest horse Hadouken, I’d imagine it will go forward, so hopefully we’ll be able to roll in behind it and get the most economical run we can.
“I’ve got full faith in Sonja that she’ll get the job done for us, she rides the track really well to be honest.”
Perdon, who had always envisaged bringing horses to the NT, raced Starspangled Baby, Faberge Tzar and Dummy Spit in Alice Springs in June prior to the Darwin Cup Carnival.
The plan to start Starspangled Baby in the Darwin Cup evolved some 12 months ago, and although there is plenty of excitement in the Perdon camp, the mare has yet to bring her best form to the table at Fannie Bay.
A fourth in the ROANT Gold Cup (1300m) behind Wolfburn was followed by a sixth in the Chief Minister’s Cup (1600m) at weight-for-age behind Darwin Cup favourite Bear Story and a third in the Buntine Handicap (2050m) behind Hadouken.
“She probably struggled a little bit, not so much the heat or the climate, more just the box life – she gets trained in the paddock back home,” Perdon said.
“Just knowing the horse, she was probably running at 60 per cent in the Buntine.
“No disrespect to the others, but if she brought her best form she would have won that race easily.
“I think the last week or so we’ve turned the corner, she’s eating up well and her coat has finally come through.
“There’s plenty of ticks, but it’s taken a while, so hopefully if there’s more improvement she’ll be better for Monday.”
Starspangled Baby, who won the Bairnsdale Cup (1600m) in March, has been competitive in 18 starts for Perdon and finished second over 2040m (BM84) at Moonee Valley in December.
Perdon believes Neil Dyer’s Bear Story will take some stopping on Monday, while he has plenty of respect for Gary Clarke’s Wolfburn.
Faberge Tzar managed a win in Alice Springs and Darwin before finishing at the tail of the field in the NT Derby (2050m) due to a heart arrythmia, while Dummy Spit will be seeking its first NT win after four minor placings from six starts.
“I just can’t get over how quick they go in the NT and due to the kick back the jockeys just want to get forward,” Perdon said.
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