Marko enters Winter Cup picture with Oamaru romp

[Wandering Eyes]

Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler will consider a late nomination for the Gr.3 Winning Edge Presentations Winter Cup (1600m) after Master Marko (NZ) (Contributer) overcame a wide run to blow his rivals away in Sunday’s Crombie & Price Ltd Oamaru Cup (1600m).

The TAB now rates Master Marko a $10 chance for the Winter Cup at Riccarton on August 3. Tyler has previously won the showpiece flat race of the Grand National Carnival with Timy Tyler in 2015.

Tyler did not put Master Marko’s name forward when the early Winter Cup nominations closed on June 11. At that stage the gelding had only recently returned from a two-year stint in Queensland that produced four wins and concluded with an unplaced finish at Doomben on April 13.

Master Marko made his return to New Zealand racing with an eye-catching second in a 1400m open handicap at Ashburton on July 4, and his second-up performance in Sunday’s $40,000 feature may force Tyler into a Winter Cup rethink.

After breaking well from gate nine, Master Marko was prominent in the early stages of the race but was caught wide when others pushed through underneath him. Jockey Ciel Butler eased him back in search of a better position, but he remained trapped four or five wide all the way.

Despite covering extra ground, Master Marko moved forward purposefully coming down the side of the track, cruising past the front-running pair of Conor O’Ceirin and Lord Darci just before the home turn.

Master Marko maintained that momentum and charged clear down the home straight, opening up a dominant winning margin of six and a half lengths. He credited Butler with the 50^th win of her riding career.

Tyler had been delighted with Master Marko’s condition leading into the race and expected the addition of visor blinkers to lift his performance on Sunday, but even he was taken aback by the five-year-old’s tour de force.

“We thought he’d go well, but I definitely didn’t expect him to win like that,” Tyler said. “He had to cover a lot of ground, so that was a big performance. He’s a pretty good horse.

“He’s come back beautifully from Australia and he’s looking as good as he’s ever looked. He handles travel and work and nothing seems to faze him at all. Hopefully we’ll have a bit more to look forward to with him.

“I suppose the Winter Cup is the obvious target now, but we’ll just have a bit of a think about things before we commit to paying that late nomination fee. We’ll see how he comes through this and hopefully get some idea of what the track conditions might be like up there for the Cup.”

Bred by Raffles Dancers, whose name has been put in international lights over the last 12 months by the superstar mare Imperatriz, Master Marko is by Contributer out of the Exceed and Excel mare Miss Haydn.

Master Marko was offered by Raffles Farm in an online auction on Gavelhouse.com in May of 2020, where Michael Tyler bought him for just $700. Kelvin Tyler shares ownership of Master Marko with his wife Vanessa.

From a 39-start career, Master Marko has now had five wins, five seconds and nine thirds and has amassed $195,427 in stakes. Prior to his move to Australia, he finished third in the Listed Dunedin Guineas (1500m) and fourth in the Listed Southland Guineas (1600m).

Aljay and Jay Bee Gee remain the equal $7 favourites for the Winter Cup, with Belardo Boy and Bradman just behind them at $8. Master Marko shares $10 fifth favouritism with Justaskme and Spencer, who will both contest the rescheduled Listed Opunake Cup (1400m) at Hawera on Tuesday.

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