Saturday night’s Geelong Cup shapes as an intriguing contest, with a strong field of country cup stars engaged in the provincial feature.
Between them the 12 runners have annexed the flagship events at 11 clubs, but amazingly, the Geelong Cup is not one of them!
The crew have enjoyed success at Ballarat, Bendigo, Charlton, Cobram, Echuca, Maryborough, Mildura, Terang, Wangaratta, Warragul and Wedderburn.
After drawing perfectly in barrier one, rising star Hectorjayjay is favoured to add the Cup to his growing tally.
Second in the Yarra Valley Cup two starts back, Hectorjayjay was retired from last weekend’s Crobram Cup after standing ‘flat footed’ when the tapes released the field.
Confident her stable star will appreciate the switch back to more suitable mobile conditions, trainer Simone Walker is naturally thrilled with the draw.
“We had a gear malfunction at Cobram, which is why he took no part in the race,” Walker explained. “Unfortunately it has left him short of a run compared to where I would like him to be, but I’ve given him some solid hit outs to make up for it.
“I couldn’t be happier with the draw and hopefully it can lead to an awesome start to the New Year.
“Like I said, I would have preferred to have that extra run under his belt, but he is still ready to go.”
Citing Keayang Cullen as the main danger, Walker is also weary of last season’s country cups ‘King’ Im Corzin Terror.
A last start winner in 1:53.3 at Ballarat, Keayang Cullen will begin from gate 11, while Im Corzin Terror has to contend with the outside of the front row.
Although he enjoyed no luck during his recent New Zealand campaign, Im Corzin Terror scored in impressive fashion at Melton before heading across the Tasman.
“Keayang Cullen is in great form and is the one to beat despite the back row,” Walker said. “Im Corzin Terror is a proven horse at this level, and going on his win before he left for New Zealand, he will be hard to beat again.
“It’s a pretty even race, and as usual, it will come down to the right run and luck.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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