Kissmecatie was triumphant in last weekend's Gunbower Cup
A dream drive from Victoria’s hottest reinsman has seen Ian Montgomery make a triumphant return to his roots and Kissmecatie claim the $12,000 Gunbower Family Hotel Gunbower Pacing Cup in dominant, foreboding fashion
Born and raised less than an hour from the Echuca racetrack (which once again played host to Gunbower’s marquee meeting), Montgomery had specifically set his stable star to race at the course in search of her maiden Choice Hotels Country Cup success.
And with the aid of a superlative steer from champion reinsman Chris Alford – himself riding the crest of a weekend wave – that’s just what they achieved.
“It was a very good win, we had a few worries early but they disappeared in the blink of an eye really,” Montgomery said after the race. “That’s why you put Chris Alford on though isn’t it?
“I’ve always had a huge opinion of this mare and she was great tonight. We missed out on the Ladyship mile with her this year but she’s really stepped up of late and I think she’ll be up to that sort of race next time around now, for sure.”
Drawn inside the back line (barrier 7) around Frank Ryan Raceway’s 805-metre circuit, Montgomery’s only concern approaching Sunday’s 2160-metre feature was his mighty mare being buried back along the peg-line early in the race.
Those fears were quickly realised when bold frontrunner Showdownatmidnight flew off the arm to cross polemarker and favourite Tara Royale less the fifty metres after the start.
But displaying all the skill that saw him claim both of the programme’s earlier features – the $20,000 K L Cooke & Sons George Croxford Tribute Final aboard Mustang Mach and the $12,000 Cohuna Car Sales Gunbower Trotters Cup aboard My Mate Claudy – Alford had Kissmecatie off the inside and into clear running before the field had settled into stride.
Already possessing a terrific tactical advantage over his main danger before the 40.9-second lead-time had been semaphored, Alford took hold of the $3.50 second elect in the breeze through a first fraction of 31.2 before unleashing the shackles henceforth.
Acutely aware of his magnificent mare’s superior strength Alford wound the race up from the 1200-metre mark, scorching through a second section of 29.9 to test out the vulnerable leader and make it nigh on impossible for a three-wide train to develop at any stage.
Finally claiming the ascendancy at the tail end of a 29.8-second third split, Kissmecatie’s major danger appeared to be right on her back in the form of 2011 Wangaratta Cup king Star City Roller.
But after hitting her top on entering the lane, Montgomery’s daughter of Our Sir Vancelot gave each and all of her eight rivals the slip, careering through a 28.7-second final fraction to close out a 1:59.6 mile rate and win by seven metres running away.
Star City Roller stuck on gamely late to replicate the Wangaratta Cup quinella by running second with Steve O’Donoghue’s consistent campaigner Triple Vance finishing on well after acceptances to secure third.
David Aiken’s $1.90 popular elect Tara Royale was the hard luck story from the race.
Only extricated from a pocket late after being dragged backward by the tiring Showdownatmidnight before the final turn, the recent Ladyship Mile placegetter never saw daylight at any stage and was still just jogging when hitting the line to snare fourth place.
