Above: Emerald Jack lunges to the line ahead of sentimental hope Blue Collar Jack to win the Cranbourne Cup for Caulfield trainer Peter Moody on Sunday.By Brad Kingsbury
LEADING trainer Peter Moody celebrated victory in what he described as his ‘local’ cup, after his small but ever-so-honest galloper Emerald Jack saluted in the $156,000 Cranbourne Cup on Sunday.
The laconic trainer flashed a satisfied grin as star jockey Damien Oliver drove the seven-year-old gelding across the line ahead of sentimental hope and last year’s winner Blue Collar Jack to tick off another triumph for his super successful stable.
Moody said it was a thrill to win a race like this even after winning so many big metropolitan purses.
“I love it,” he said.
“I’ve got a row of these country cups at home from Wangaratta, Sale, Seymour and Kilmore and now Cranbourne.
“I live at Belgrave South, so it’s a home town win for me. I regard Cranbourne and Pakenham as my home tracks.
“I’m a country boy and I love supporting country racing. Winning races like the Cranbourne Cup makes it even better.”
Nearly 7000 people attended the Cranbourne Turf Club’s showpiece meeting in perfect conditions with the strong 10-race program run on a track that was rated a Slow 6 early but upgraded to Dead 5 before the main race.
Emerald Jack jumped from barrier four and raced handy to the pace, which was solid from the start with Lee Freedman’s Itstheone and Blue Collar Jack for Ken Keys also in the leading group.
Solid pre-post favourite Pacino, ridden by Dwayne Dunn, travelled midfield in running but gave little when the pressure was applied and finished well down the field.
Oliver was pocketed by the vastly bigger Blue Collar Jack on the corner to the home straight, but he steadied the smaller horse and darted through an opening after the 20-metre mark to hit the lead and then hold off the fast-finishing Keys steed to win by a neck, with outsider El Pretender a further three-quarters of a length away in third place.
Moody, who saddled eight starters at Caulfield on Saturday including the winner of the last race, said his connection to country and provincial racing was a big part of his life and he enjoyed the challenge of training race horses, whether it be in high-pressure metropolitan group racing or the more relaxed and friendly atmosphere of country meetings.
He paid tribute to Oliver’s ride and said he had not really thought too far forward.
“It was a great ride from a great jockey and that was the reason he won it,” Moody said.
“He wasn’t set specifically for this race but he is the sort of horse suited to these types of events.
“We were going to go back to Sale where he won (the cup) last year, but I think he’ll get weighted out of that now.
“He’s not a big horse and he struggles when he gets above the 56 kilograms. That’s about his limit.
“We might look towards a stakes race in town,” he said.
Oliver was thrilled with the win, his second Cranbourne Cup victory, and said the horse had shown grit to take it out.
“I had to breathe in a bit there when Blue Collar Jack had me cornered,” he said.
“We didn’t have much room, but he is a courageous horse and he just kept trying and forced his way through the gap.”
Keys was still smiling after the race and said his stable favourite had been beaten by a better horse on the day.
“I’m proud of the horse,” he said.
“He probably got caught up and had to do a little bit of work out wide early, but there were no excuses. It was a great effort and he just kept coming.
“A few strides from the post I thought we had it, but Emerald Jack was very good.
Keys said he had set the six-year-old specifically for a tilt at back-to-back home track cups.
“He didn’t come up over the summer so we thought we would have another go at this race. We almost did it again,” he said.
The other Cranbourne-trained starters, Hassle and Drumbeater for Robbie Laing, together with Allan Williams’ Danerette, failed to flatter in the small field.
