Cup coup for Hood

CHAMPION pacer Robin Hood proved punters were on the mark with a strong win in Saturday night’s $50,000 Decron Cranbourne Pacing Cup.
The heavily backed, odds-on favourite circled the field and sped to the front in the first lap of the 2585-metre event and was never headed.
Robin Hood won the Group 2 feature race by two metres from $14 chance Winforu, with 2003 cup winner Mr DG, also $14, running third and fast-finishing local hope Tromos taking fourth.
Trained at Smythes Creek by experienced mentor Peter Tonkin, Robin Hood earned automatic entry into the $300,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Moonee Valley on 17 December with the win.
Tonkin, who has prepared some of the state’s best pacers including Paris Fair and Relentless Pursuit, was thrilled with the five-year old horse’s effort and predicted that he would be a good chance at Moonee Valley.
“It’s a great feeling and he’s just a great horse,” he said.
“I was confident Actually, I thought he was a moral to win and I wasn’t surprised with the way the race was run.
“The Victoria Cup is his next go and we’ll have to wait and see what we draw (but) he’s come a long way and he’s going from strength to strength. I think he’ll run well,” Tonkin said.
The trainer praised the Harness Racing Board and Cranbourne Harness Racing Club in his acceptance speech, together with the drive of master reinsman Gavin Lang. Lang gave all the credit to the horse.
“It’s great to win these races in front of such a great crowd but he’s a great horse and he makes me look good,” Lang said.
The outstanding effort of the Jayne Davies-trained Tromos was acknowledged by driver Chris Alford who said the race winner was a class above it.
“Robin Hood is a very good horse and he’ll win a lot better races than this one,” he said.
“My horse had to have a soft run in the race and followed out the inside runner well, but a couple of lead changes saw him sent back into the field. He got up the straight really good so I was very pleased with the run.
“A bit further and he probably could have caught Mr DG and run third.
“He was very strong on the line but he’s at the stage with this class that he has to have a bit of luck go his way,” Alford said.
Three district-trained horses won races on the Cranbourne Cup card with Simone Walker steering Mister Miriam to the line in race two, Alford saw Ms Davies’ talented pacer Penny Veejay to the line in the fourth event and father and son John and Shane McGuinness combined to win the final race with Zesty Lombo.
Despite persistent rain showers, club chief executive Jacquie Gluck was happy with the big on-course crowd and thrilled with the response of patrons to the club’s marquee packages, with 1,900 taking up corporate dining offers, 200 more than in 2004.