TWO nominations from Randwick trainer John Sargent are among 19 for the $80,000 Stacks Law Firm Taree Cup (2000m), feature race on the two-day,$467,000 carnival at Bushland Drive Racecourse, Taree, on Friday and Sunday (cup).
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They are last start easy Newcastle winner five-year-old gelding Paragon and six-year-old gelding Elusive Runner.
Paragon has certainly come of age in his past six starts in scoring three wins in a career of 26 starts for four victories and seven placings.
Elusive Runner has only been lightly raced with 10 starts for a win and four placings but was a solid seventh,beaten 4.8 lengths, behind Dubalinstyle over 2000m at Rosehill last Saturday.
Warwick Farm trainer Gregory Hickman is no stranger to Taree and has nominated the in-form consistent five-year-old gelding Braces.
Leading Newcastle trainer Kris Lees has nominated six-year-old gelding Olympic Academy and Slow Pace (USA) whereas Wyong trainer Kim Waugh has six-year-old gelding Dowdstown Charlie, a winner on the Beaumont track at Newcastle two starts ago before a second to Paragon on the same track on August 6.
Recent Sydney and Queensland winner, seven-year-old gelding Get On The Grange, owned by a syndicate from Taree-Wingham and trained at Wyong by Allan Kehoe should prove hard to beat on a track where he has performed well in the past.
Last start winner eight-year-old gelding Shadow Rein,trained at Coffs Harbour by Terry Walshe, has won at the track and is thriving in races over the cup distance.
Trainer Ken Lantry’s six-year-old gelding Egyptian Ruler led most of the way before weakening to fourth behind Dubalinstyle at Rosehill on Saturday and will be one of the favourites.
A hometown win is possible with six-year-old gelding Halfway To Heaven,trained by Bob Haire, who hasn’t been in the best of health lately and is in the hands of caretaker trainer Ross Stitt, who was hoping to have Single Spirit in the cup but for a setback.
Seven-year-old gelding Single Spirit may have missed the Casino Cup last Saturday and the Taree Gold Cup this Sunday due to an elevated temperature, spoiling preparations, but he heads the field of nominations for the $30,000 Hopkins Livermore Cup over 1400m on Friday.
Stitt will be monitoring the progress of the gelding,the winner of eight country cups, before accepting but also has nominated track and distance specialist seven-year-old mare Shazza’s Bubbles for the same race.
Single Spirit’s last run resulted in another win in the $25,200 Sawtell Cup over 1515m at Coffs Harbour on July 24 where he beat fellow Taree galloper Chalcedony by 1.3 lengths.
The runner-up, trained by Matthew Robinson,then won the Taree Cup Prelude over 1624m at Taree on August 9 and it is favoured to line up in this race.
Shazza’s Bubbles hasn’t raced since May 13 but won a barrier trial by five lengths at home on August 9 and in four preparations has won first-up twice and second-up once.
She has five wins at the distance and four of them were on this track.
Other top nominations come from trainer Kim Waugh at Wyong with six-year-old gelding Harry Hotspur and eight-year-old gelding No Bad Blood, Cessnock trainer Graham Payne with Annandale Lass and Muswellbrook mentor Stephen Gleeson with Dancing Daydream and Pippi’s Pride.
Last season’s leading Mid North Coast trainer Neil Godbolt has nominated recent winner Flying Kistena and Dixie Lad.
Top local mare Another Valley, trained by Bob Milligan, only has to reproduce its fourth placing in the $400,000 Country Final of The Championships over 1400m at Randwick in April to be in the mix.
