By Casey O'Connor
Matt Kropp’s love affair with country racing and in particular Country Cups continued on Saturday when top weight Splitz streeted the field in the K & A Building Stanthorpe Cup.
It was back to back Southern Downs Cups for the Toowoomba trainer who a week earlier led in the winner of the Warwick Cup, Rosie Posie.
Kropp is building a collection of Country Cups having won the Kilcoy Cup earlier this year and the Dalby Cup on four occasions.
The five year old gelding made light work of his 60kg impost and jockey Noriyuki Masuda kicked well clear on him as they topped the rise on the testing Stanthorpe track coming away to win easily on the line by over two lengths from Marlahn ($8) and the well supported favourite Mail Escort who carried the hopes of many local punters. His connections once again missing out on the elusive Stanthorpe Cup win.
The day was a triumph not just for the Stanthorpe Jockey club but for the Granite Belt community who set aside the doom and gloom and hardships they have been facing over recent month attending Armstrong park in numbers.
Jockey President Chips Brunckhorst said it was a fantastic day, “It was just great to see so many local people supporting the meeting and more than anything it was so pleasing to see people with smiles on their faces and enjoying themselves.”A representative of Racing Queensland who was among the estimated 2000 people to attend the meeting said he was amazed at the support the meeting received and praised the Committee on their facilities and the state of the track given the recent conditions.
The new covered betting area proved a hit with not only bookmakers who can now take your money off you in surroundings that are the equal of any country track in Queensland but the public who have another covered area to seek respite from the weather. This year the heat.
The five race meeting opened with the MJ Cleaners/ Stanthorpe RSL Class B Handicap over the
metre journey.
Punters got their day off to a good start when Blaine $2.80 favourite comfortably defeated Red Money ($5.50) and Our Gracious Dane ($12). The favourite who is trained in Toowoomba franked his good recent form at Gatton to get the money for trainer Stephen Kirkwood, jockey Emma Ljung and owners Gunsynd Lodge.
Texas trainer Rod Hilton rarely brings a horse to the Stanthorpe races and goes home empty handed and Saturday was no exception. Owned and trained by Hilton Primmiscuous won the second event. The four year old mare was well ridden by Leanne McCoy to win the Queensland County Credit Union Maiden. Starting at $5 the Teas galloper landed some handy bets when she hung on to beat favourite Yazzi Jean ($2.40) and Outback Champ ($13)
Spin readers should have been on the omen bet in the third event, Top Spin. Heather Poland had the Gary Schwenke trained Top Spin perfectly positioned from the jump in the Ensay Electrical QTIS Benchmark 55 over the sprint distance of 1000 metres. The six year old who started at the good odds of $13 was resuming from a spell and ran to the line strongly after taking the lead in the straight beating another outsider Tin’s Pocket ($17) and Chocolate Oreo ($3). The well backed favourite Jazzy’s Angel finished at the tail of the field.
Favourite punter might have missed out in the Cup but they finished the meeting on a high when the Clifton trained De Banda Vega saluted in the last the Country Club Liquor Legends Benchmark 55 over the 1400 metre journey.
Note:
I hope some of our readers were on Yes Yes Yes in the Everest. Look out for Castelvecchio; King’s Will Dream and Verry Elleegant in this weekend’s Cox Plate.
