Narra Operative pictured at Stawell with Kerryn Manning after winning the 2015 Huugain Feeds Stawell Pacing Cup.
The locals were cheering at Stawell as Great Western father/daughter team Peter and Kerryn Manning combined to take out the $25,505 Hygain Feeds Stawell Pacing Cup with seven-year-old gelding Narra Operative.
Narra Operative enjoyed a typically economical Manning drive to finish powerfully along the inside, upstaging runner-up Road To Rock at the end of the 2590m stand-start feature.
Road To Rock, who finished a neck behind the winner, led the field initially after a brilliant getaway for leading reinsman Chris Alford.
The Keith Cotchin trained seven-year-old St Arnaud Cup winner dictated terms through the first half of the last mile with splits of 32 and 30.8 (62.8 first half) before a 29.5 run down the back.
But Narra Operative peeled to the inside in the home lane and sprinted sharpest to the line with a final quarter of 27.7 – mile rate 2:03.3 – for the gelding’s second straight country cup success after capturing the Wedderburn Cup last start.
Narra Operative is owned by Wickliffe's Kevin McIntyre.
Lord Monaloo ran a bold third for Kylie and Greg Sugars after a slow beginning, while Flaming Hero hit the line hard for fourth and Hilltop Hustler battled on well for fifth after being caught in the breeze from the 10m tape.
