The Ballarat Turf Club has received a bumper thirty-five nominations for the Listed $200,000 Sportsbet.com.au Ballarat Cup (2200m) at their stand alone meeting at Ballarat on Saturday.
Epingle, black colours, is nominated for the Ballarat Cup at Ballarat after running second to Au Revoir in Zipping Classic, above. Photo by Sarah Ebbett.
The last day of the 2014 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival sees the Ballarat meeting carry metropolitan status with two Magic Millions sponsored races also on the ten race program, the $200,000 Magic Millions Clockwise Classic (1000m) for the two year olds and the $100,000 Magic Millions 3yo Classic (1100m) for the three year olds.
Zipping Classic runner-up Epingle is among the nominations and is one of Mick Kent’s three entries along with Scratchy Bottom and You Think So.
Caulfield trainer Mick Price has nominated Count Of Limonade and is hoping for a soft surface after he scratched the Irish import from the Group 2 $350,000 Deadly Design Zipping Classic (2400m) at Sandown last Saturday because of the firm track.
Price has also nominated Tango’s Daughter while Mornington trainer Matt Laurie has entered Escado and Rialya who led up the field in the Zipping Classic before finishing last of the eight runners.
Robert Smerdon has entered two for the Ballarat Cup, Spinderbella and Electric Fusion and while one has earned her spot in the country cup, the Caulfield trainer is hoping the other will step up on Saturday.
Smerdon scratched Spinderbella from the Group 2 $300,000 Momentum Energy Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on November 8 because of the firm track and is happy with her form heading into the Ballarat Cup.
“She’s going well I just pulled her out of the Matriarch (Momentum Energy Stakes) because the ground was too firm for her,” Smerdon told Racing.com
“She has been racing in terrific form and her record is really good, she’s won five out of nine starts and is particularly good beyond 1600.
“She will be down in the weights and without being able to pre-empt what else will be there, I would have thought she would be pretty competitive.”
But Smerdon is hoping for an improved effort from Electric Fusion who hasn’t been in the prizemoney from six runs this preparation.
“Electric Fusion has been racing a bit plain lately but Dwayne Dunn’s suggestion was to take him out further in distance and get him down in the weights a bit,” Smerdon said.
“If he could get back to anywhere near his three-year-old form running second behind Hawkspur in a Queensland Derby he’d be very competitive here.
“He looks good at the moment and his work’s good so if the formula that Dwayne Dunn has indicated has merit to it then he’ll line up quite well there.”
Premiership winning trainer Darren Weir has entered three, At First Sight, Hurdy Gurdy Man and Mobaco, Peter Moody has also three, Cadillac Mountain, Fat Al and In Masquerade while Gai Waterhouse has entered Pheidon following the four year old’s second in the Group 3 $150,000 mypunter.com Eclipse Stakes (1800m) at Sandown last Saturday.
