Last Saturday’s The Queen’s Cup winner Plot Twist will be set for the Group 2 $400,000 Adelaide Cup (3200m) at Morphettville in March next year after winning his third two mile staying test at the Sunshine Coast last Saturday.
Plot Twist, above with red cap, will be set for the 2019 Adelaide Cup at Morphettville. Photo by Steve Hart.
The Team Snowden trained Plot Twist has won the last two runnings of the $100,000 Stayers Cup over 3200m at Randwick in 2017 and 2018 and kept his 3200m record intact with a grinding win in the Group 3 $150,000 The Queen’s Cup (3200m).
The Queen’s Cup Race name is rotated around the country from year to year with a different staying race in different states carrying that title every year.
This year’s The Queen’s Cup took over the naming rights of the time honoured Queensland Cup which is run over the 3200m around this time every year.
Co-trainer Peter Snowden, who trains in partnership with his son Paul, said that although Plot Twist is a genuine stayer, he didn’t think he was up to Melbourne Spring Carnival standard and would give the rising seven year old a break before preparing him for the 2019 Adelaide Autumn Carnival.
“He did a great job. He’s a real two-miler,” Snowden said.
“He hasn’t got the turn of foot or class to run in a Melbourne Cup. But a race like the Adelaide Cup might suit him.”
The Queen’s Cup winning jockey Jim Byrne had Plot Twist ($4.80) quickly into stride from the jump and set up a mediocre pace in front for the first half of the race before the Damian Browne on the $2.70 favourite Megablast took over the front running role from the 1200m mark.
Browne let Megablast stride out a bit more freely from that point but Byrne was not going to let the grey Kiwi stayer get too far in front and loomed up on his outside on the home turn.
Megablast tried hard in the straight under his 60kg top weight but faded in the run to the line to finish third while Plot Twist, with only 54kg, gained the supremacy over the final 150m and had a length and half to spare over runner up Anton En Avant who ran on from the back.
Plot Twist began his career with a Maiden win over 2012m at the Curragh in Ireland and has now added another five more wins to his record from twenty-three starts with prizemoney earnings of $279,015.
