Buster Brady has announced himself as a contender in the Trots Country Cups Championship after an impressive win in the Flying Brick Cider Co. Geelong Pacing Cup.
The six-year-old backed a convincing maiden Australian win at Cranbourne on November 17 with a hard-fought victory on Saturday night, when he punched the breeze for much of the 2570m race before running over the top of TAB Inter Dominion Pacing Championship entrant Cash N Flow (third) in the straight.
It was Buster Brady’s first win of the championship after a disappointing first-up ninth in the St Arnaud cup earlier this month and the victory took driver Kima Frenning’s record to an impressive 21 wins from 73 starts this season and her second victory as trainer.
Frenning said to take out a $50,000 cup for owners the Stokie Racing Group in just her third race as a trainer was “ridiculous”.
“I’m still on cloud nine today,” she said. “I can’t believe it and I really, really want to thank Luke Stokie for giving me the opportunity but also David Aiken. I could not have done this without him.
“He’s just been a great mentor and to be able to work alongside him for so long has just been amazing. He’s such a great trainer and I couldn’t have done any of this without him.”
She said it hadn’t been the ideal run in the Geelong cup and had been concerned about Buster Brady being so open for much of the race, but he was proving to be a “tough” horse.
“I was a bit worried throughout the run being without cover for that distance but you know he was just so strong the whole race and then, at the last turn, I was like, you know we might be able to finish this,” she said.
Buster Brady finished just outside the ID18 rankings at 43 but Frenning said even if they had snuck through he’d already been scratched from the series.
“He’s probably 12 months off that and there’s other races that we can target,” she said.
“There’ll be a couple of country cups he’ll go in and I know there’s a free-for-all on Inter Dominion finals night that we’ll aim him for as well. There’s plenty of good races around for him.”
In the Yabby Dam Racing McNamara Memorial Trotters Cup Endsin A Party held off a fast finishing Save Our Pennys for an impressive win for owner-trainer Brad Stevens.
In Chris Svanosio's hands, Endsin A Party found the front from the standing start and held on to win by a head and gift Stevens his greatest stakes win.
San Carlo and I’m the Boss (10 points each) continue to lead the 2018-19 Trots Country Cups Championship while King Denny (12 points) has pulled clear of the Maori's Idol Trotting Championship.
The Trots Country Cups Championship reaches its 2018 conclusion with Sunday’s Barham Insurance Advisers Stawell Pacing Cup, which presents as a big day in Victoria’s west as the party continues after Saturday night’s first heats of the TAB Inter Dominion Pacing and Trotting Championships.
A big day is planned, with more details here: http://www.trotscountry.com.au/meeting/stawell/
Mark Smith
Trots Media