In Brief
- Galway Girl could take winning form into next week's Devonport Cup.
- Home track a big advantage for Glass Warrior.
- Raghu gets chance to register first win on Tassie soil.
Talented mare Galway Girl will use Friday’s $25,000 Cressy Chaff Cutters Longford Cup as a warm-up for next week’s Ladbrokes Devonport Cup, but her trainer Graeme McCulloch, believes she can take winning form into that event.
Galway Girl was purchased by McCulloch as a potential broodmare but after winning three in succession in her adopted state, the trainer set about aiming her at feature races over the summer.
After finishing third in a graded event in Launceston, McCulloch gave the mare a freshen-up and her two runs since in Listed events over sprint distances have been full of merit.
“I brought her back with the Devonport Cup in mind and her runs in the Newmarket and the weight-for-age Conquering Stakes were really good, so she will find this class more to her liking, albeit in a race she was never intended to run in,” McCulloch said.
“She needed another run closer to the Devonport Cup and that was to be in a benchmark race that was part of the abandoned meeting at Elwick last Sunday, so the Longford Cup was available as an alternative.
“She has never raced beyond 1600 metres so at least by running in the Longford Cup (1800m) we’ll get an idea of whether she will handle the Devonport Cup trip (1880m).”
Galway Girl has been handicapped to carry 54.5kg in the Longford Cup and McCulloch has booked in-form jockey Siggy Carr to ride the daughter of I am Invincible.
“The mare has drawn a nice gate (4) and Siggy will suit her, so given it is an honestly-run race I expect her to be a top winning chance.”
Last year’s Hobart Cup placegetter Glass Warrior is top weight (59kg) but that she is trained on the track by John Blacker would suggest she will start favourite even though, like Galway Girl, this race is an afterthought.
However, Blacker’s other runner Generalmaintenance has had three starts this preparation in graded events and should be fir enough to make his presence felt at the busines end of proceedings.
The Angela Brakey-trained White Hawk also heads to the Devonport Cup next week, but the natural front-runner is now trained on the Longford circuit and could take some catching if allowed to bowl along at his leisure.
Premier trainer Scott Brunton has aimed three of his stable tenants at the race comprising Born Magic, Banstead, and Sky Fox, and any of the three could place without surprising.
The Rowan Hamer-trained Raghu has yet to win since arriving in Tasmania from Victoria in August but his latest second to Kanji in a benchmark 74 handicap in Devonport over 1880m suggests he could be the value bet in an open race.
Watch Galway Girl win a benchmark race in Devonport on 27 September.