Co trainers Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra started the spring with high aspirations for their talented stayer Lucky Eighty Eight and ended with an adequate consolation in Wednesday's $100,000 Kyneton Cup.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The Flemington training partners believed Lucky Eighty Eight could measuring up to the Caulfield Cup but when he missed a start in that $2.5 million event they set their sights on the Listed feature race at Kyneton.
The six-year-old justified their decision when Michelle Payne rode him to a comfortable win over Sertorious and Pergola.
“It's fair to say he's probably been racing below his best but we seemed to get him right today. Although maybe not at his best he was good enough to win,” Ellerton said.
“We pumped his tyres up for today and were lucky enough to get away with it. He won quite well.”
Lucky Eighty Eight made the most of a fine ride from Payne to register the seventh win of his 20-start career.
Payne settled Lucky Eighty Eight worse than midfield in the solid tempo set by The Tiger before surging into the race rounding the home bend.
Lucky Eighty Eight hit the front soon after straightening and was strong up the straight, scoring by a length and a quarter from Sertorious with Pergola working home to claim third, three quarters of a length back.
Payne said the race didn't pan out how she hoped.
“The plan was to be a little bit closer earlier but I jumped out of the barriers and the speed was pretty good so I just elected to go to plan B and it worked out really nicely,” she said.
“He settled nicely, got a nice cart up into the race and was really going well on the corner.
“He took me there so easily and I knew that I had a good kick under me and when I straightened up. I gave him a couple of backhanders he really quickened to the line nicely.”
Last year's winner Red Buttons was never a factor, finishing sixth, while the top local hope Hawks Bay found his 60kg impost too much and beat just two home.
