Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted December 9, 2023 Journalists Share Posted December 9, 2023 Captain Envious (NZ) ridden by Michael Dee wins the Ballarat Cup at Ballarat Racecourse on December 09, 2023. (Photo by Brett Holburt/Racing Photos) Captain Envious (+280) cruised past his rivals to secure victory in the $500,000 Ballarat Cup (2000m) on Saturday afternoon, reveling in the Heavy track conditions. There was plenty of money for the Paul Preusker-trained son of Savabeel, firming into a clear favourite with online bookmakers prior to the jump. He didn’t disappoint, as Michael Dee sat quietly aboard the five-year-old, before unleashing down the centre of the course with 400m to travel. It proved to be a real testing 2000m as En Francais (+2000) led them up at a genuine tempo throughout, with Young Werther (+550) and Just Folk (+400) landing into the trail. Young Werther swung the bend to head his rivals but did run into some interference before Captain Envious rounded them up to score a convincing victory, while Foxy Cleopatra (+340) backers were left disappointed, as the mare was unable to handle conditions. 2023 Ballarat Cup Replay – Captain Envious | T: Paul Preusker | J: Michael Dee Paul Preusker was on course to give his thoughts on his progressive stayer on the rise, and suggested Cup races like this are always a target for his stable. “I always like having the right horse for the right job, and it’s only now that I thought about targeting the race,” said Preusker. “He’s got that blistering turn of foot. He’s turned into a nice horse, handles wet and dry. I thought let’s have a go here. I didn’t want to stay him out this prep, so 2000 metres ticked the box.” “He’s a horse that will get over a bit more ground. It was a matter of getting some points. Today was good for that.” Michael Dee was glowing about his mount in his post-race assessment, giving credit to the horse for his ability to get through the tough going. “He quickened up like it was a good track,” said Dee. “He ploughed through that. He was running away from them on the line and he took time to pull him up. It was a super effort. “There was a little more speed than I thought. He didn’t jump the cleanest as well. “He ended up positioning further back than we planned. “As the races had been planning out, I wanted to stay on the fence, but that wasn’t going to eventuate for us, so I ended up peeling him out, he took off, and he did the rest.” More horse racing news View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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