By Geoff Newling
Dan Roy chases a Country Music Cup at Tamworth's Showcase meeting tomorrow as part of his Country Championships campaign for Tamworth trainer Leon Davies.
The four-year-old gelding son of Dane Shadow has drawn wide in Friday’s $30,000 Hurricane Fall Country Music Cup Class 3 Showcase Handicap (1400m) and will jump from barrier 11 (after drawing 13) in the feature race. His regular rider, Darren Jones, is on board again and the Tamworth jockey hopes to make it back-to-back wins after they paired to win a Class 3 over 1400m at their home track on January 6.
Jones has been his regular rider this time in, starting with a two length fifth to Fickle Folly at Scone, returning to Tamworth for a second career win over 1200m in late November and then third to Another Aan on a Heavy 9 quagmire at Scone before his impressive last start success. His attempt has been made a little easier by the scratching of recent Tamworth winner Fancy Nickers.
The four-year-old mare, trained by Greg Bennett at Scone, drew even wider than Dan Roy’s 13 and will be saved for another day, advised the trainer.
“Too hard from out there,” Greg Bennett said. “It was her first time over 1400m and she’d try her guts out too. She’s only young (nine starts for three wins) and I don’t want to bust her.” He has other plans for her while also having three other starters tomorrow, the best of which might be Sadhika.
In the meantime he has recent Scone track record breaker Invienna, All Summer Long and Sassaby on Country Championships missions.
“It was a huge effort to break a three-year-old track record with Invienna, she also carried 62kg. She’ll go to Rosehill on February 11 and then back to Scone for the Country Championships Qualifying Heat on Mar 5. I didn’t accept with All Summer Long at Tamworth and instead he’ll trial at Newcastle next Wednesday and go to a Highway Handicap on February 4.”
View the final fields, form and race replays for Tamworth here