EXCITING Kiwi import Cranbourne will chase the Hunter Cup after upstaging Inter Dominion winner I Cast No Shadow in last night’s Group 2 Shepparton Gold Cup.
Caretaker trainer David Aiken said the six-year-old had come through “a pretty easy” Shepparton win well.
“He didn’t go much quicker than he would’ve in a trial and he seems great this morning … he’ll back-up next week at Ballarat and then go to the Hunter Cup,” he said.
“He went quickly for the first bit to get the lead, slowed them up and then it was really just an 800m sprint home.
“I really like him and I know he’s going to just keep improving.
“That’s the first time Nathan (Jack) has driven him and he was impressed, too.”
Cranbourne, a winner of 12 of his 44 starts in NZ, surprised by easily crossing I Cast No Shadow at the start and ripped home in 54.5 and 26.6sec to fend-off that horse and win by a half-neck in a 1min59.5sec mile rate for 2690m.
“It showed he’s going to be very competitive in these top races. We don’t have an real standout horses at the moment, they’re an even bunch,” Aiken said.
“He made the most of a good draw last night and draws are going to be important in these big races coming.”
Aiken bought Cranbourne from NZ for his friend, wealthy US owner Steve Finkelstein.
“We’ve been looking for a nice horse for Steve for a while and it looks like we’ve found the right one,” he said.
“He’s booked on a plane to the US on March 24, but the timing works well because we can go to races like the Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile before then.”
I Cast No Shadow lost no fans with his close second at his first run since winning the Inter Dominion final at Melton on December 10.
He will also back-up along with stablemates Major Meister and Majestic Cruiser in the Group 1 Ballarat Cup next Saturday night.
As sharp as Cranbourne was last night, the bar will be raised again at Ballarat with NZ’s best pacer Copy That and Victoria Cup hero Rock N Roll Doo lining-up.
Anthony Butt will drive Rock N Roll Doo with trainer Mick Stanley sidelined by a back injury.
Kiwi star Blair Orange is making the trip across the ditch to drive Copy That, winner of the past two NZ Cups, in the Ballarat and Hunter Cups.
Another classy Kiwi, Old Town Road, will also tackle the Ballarat and Hunter Cups.
- Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
PHOTOS - Stuart McCormick
