The field announced today for Saturday night’s $125,000 Cadbury Ballarat Pacing Cup is arguably the most exciting assembled anywhere in Australia this season.
The club’s decision to offer a record stake has paid handsome dividends with a myriad of stars set to converge on Bray Raceway for the Group 1 feature.
Boom locals Robin Hood and Sting Lika Bee (pictured) headline the field which features five Victorian-trained pacers, four Kiwis, two Queenslanders and a New South Welshman.
The Ballarat-trained duo face vastly contrasting assignments though after the barriers were drawn live on Radio Sport 927 this morning. Robin Hood, a winner at eight of his past 10 starts, has the coveted pole, whilst Sting Lika Bee, a last start track record-breaking winner of the Shepparton Cup, must overcome an awkward gate 12.
They’ll face stiff opposition though from in-form Auckland Cup winner Howard Bromac, classy Queensland Pacing Championship winner Slipnslide, South Australian Cup winner The Warp Drive and recent SEW-Eurodrive Victoria Cup runner-up Dinki Di.
Adding spice to the contest is the presence of the defending champion Flashing Red, who’ll renew acquaintances with last year’s runner-up, the Kiwi raider Mister D G.
The full line-up for the Cadbury Ballarat Pacing Cup, to be run over 2710 metres under mobile conditions at 10.10pm (AEST) this Saturday, January 28, is;
| 1 |
| ROBIN HOOD (VIC) | P. TONKIN | GAVIN LANG | $3.50 |
| 2 |
| ABOUT TO ROCK (VIC) | A. GATH | KATE THOMPSON (C) | $11 |
| 3 |
| FLASHING RED (QLD) | S. HUNTER | IAN MCMAHON | $21 |
| 4 |
| HOWARD BROMAC (NZ) | K. LARSEN | KIRK LARSEN | $5.50 |
| 5 |
| MISTER D G (NZ) | T. BUTT | ANTHONY BUTT | $26 |
| 6 |
| ALBERT KELLY (VIC) | C. ALFORD | CHRIS ALFORD | $15 |
| 7 |
| SLIPNSLIDE (QLD) | L. MCCARTHY | LUKE MCCARTHY (C) | $4.50 |
| -------------Second Row------------------------- | |
| 8 |
| DINKI DI (NSW) | C. FRISBY | JACK BUTLER | $34 |
| 9 |
| LONDON LEGEND (NZ) | C. DALGETY | Driver TBC | Emerg |
| 10 |
| THE WARP DRIVE (VIC) | P. CHIRCOP | JODI QUINLAN | $13 |
| 11 |
| BOBS BLUE BOY (NZ) | S. ROULSTON | CRAIG THORNLEY | $21 |
| 12 |
| STING LIKA BEE (VIC) | B. TUDDENHAM | DAVID MURPHY | $4.50 |
To be conducted under the banner of the Australasian Grand Circuit for the first time, the Cadbury Ballarat Pacing Cup is a pivotal lead-up to the world’s richest handicap, the $500,000 Hankook Tyres Hunter Cup, to be run at Moonee Valley on February 12.
