History beckons should premier provincial trainer Kris Lees be beaten by a former member of his stable in Sunday’s $80,000 Taree Gold Cup.
Lees is aiming for his third Taree Cup win in four years with last year’s winner Olympic Academy and the promising five-year-Admiral Jello but will find Glitra, a former member of his team, looming as a tough rival for his pair.
The five-year-old Glitra is now in the stable of Port Macquarie trainer John Sprague after originally having two wins for Lees.Sprague won the Taree Cup as a jockey on Just Prince for Port Macquarie trainer Glen Hodge in 1980. He will be the first to win the Taree Cup as both a jockey and trainer if Glitra lands the money on Sunday.
“It would be a fairytale come true if he wins,” Sprague said..Glitra qualified for a start when he recorded his fourth win for Sprague in the Taree Cup Prelude (1624m) two weeks ago.
Glitra won the Prelude by three lengths but the big query is whether the gelding can get 2000m at his first start over the distance.“Admiral Jello has a lot of upside. If he wins we will be looking at the Wyong and Newcastle Cups next,” Lees said.
Wyong trainers Kim Waugh and Damien Lane will await the outcome of the Taree Cup before deciding if they take on their home track feature on September 1.The Waugh-trained King Viv heads to the Taree Cup off an impressive win over 2000m at Rosehill last Saturday after a second at Doomben over the same distance on July 29.
A strong performance in the Taree Cup will give Waugh the confidence to have her first ever shot at the Wyong Cup.“It will depend on how he runs at Taree as to whether we push on to the Wyong Cup,” Waugh said. “He is racing really well so it would be really good to get him there in good form.
Damien Lane is relying on the Taree Cup to determine his plans for his pair Pirate Ben and Mr McBat.“They will have to show something at Taree,” Lane said. “Pirate Ben has been racing consistently and Mr McBat is untried over the distance but has also been racing well.
“I think they would either have to win or be placed at Taree for me head to the Wyong Cup.”
