Above: Align of Chaucer, ridden by Chris Symons, stormed home to win the Class 1 Country Showcase for Cranbourne trainer Robbie Laing last week.By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE trainers won five of last Thursday’s eight-race program held at their home track highlighted by a double to Robbie Laing and the win of Pat Hyland’s veteran money spinner Southern Crown.
Rising 10 years old, Southern Crown was having its first start over hurdles in a career that has accumulated more than $400,000 in prizemoney.
Hyland’s horse adapted to the obstacles with ease and worked home well to win by half a length from the fast-finishing Deliver Us.
The happy trainer said he had been expecting a good showing and was tossing up between continuing a jumps campaign or reverting to flat racing with the gelding.
“If he’d have run third or fourth I would still have been happy with him, given it was his first try at them. He was probably a better flat horse than these ones and he’s taken to the jumps very well,” Hyland said.
“It’s only about a month since he had his first school and he’ll improve a lot on that. He’s been a great old horse.
“We had a good jumper early on when I first started training, Best Endeavours, which won the (Grand) National and the (Grand) National in Adelaide so the caper is not new to us.”
Laing’s first success on the program was with Just Scarlett in the fifth race and he predicted better races were on the cards for the filly.
“Her first-up win was good and he was all over the shop at Sandown and should have finished closer,” he said.
“She’s a genuine filly. We’ll go back to town now and put her over the mile (1600 metres).”
The popular Cranbourne mentor backed up the victory with Align of Chaucer’s triumph in the seventh race to make an outstanding day’s work.
Other Cranbourne trainers to taste success on the afternoon were Ken Keys, who won the second race with his maiden runner Perrisensual, and Greg Eurell, who took out the last race on the program with his well fancied four-year-old mare Close The Till.
Jockey Brad Rawiller took the day’s riding honours with a double.
