Agera on target for Country Cups bonus

[Wandering Eyes]

There will be more than just the healthy $57,500 first placed cheque on the line for talented galloper Agera (NZ) (Complacent) when he contests the Harcourts Taupo Cup (2000m) at Taupo on Sunday.

The race is the last event in the newly minted Northern Cups bonus, a series where the leading points scorer over seven Cup races will take out the winner-takes-all $50,000 bonus for accumulating the most points across those races.

Agera currently sits atop the leaderboard with 10 points, secured with victories in the Listed Matamata Cup (1600m) and Listed Feilding Cup (2100m), and he is being chased by the quintet of Enright, Mollify, Just Charlie, Pacheco and Sailor Jack, all on five points.

With just Enright amongst Agera’s rivals on Sunday, it is a straight shoot out for the title in a race that offers double points to the first three home on the day.

Trainer Tony Pike admitted it was more by circumstance than design that his charge is in contention for the bonus, but he is keen to secure the prize now he finds himself in that position.

“After he (Agera) won the Matamata Cup we wanted to take him to the Thompson Handicap (Gr.3, 1600m) at Trentham but a stone bruise put paid to that, so we pulled him out and went to the Feilding Cup instead,” Pike said.

“When he won that we sat down and reassessed things and with the fact the Taupo Cup is a $100,000 race, and there is an extra $50,000 on offer, it was pretty much a no brainer that we should look seriously at it.”

Agera heads the field with a 62kg impost for the feature on Sunday, however, apprentice Sam McNab will reduce that with his 3kg claim and Pike believes his charge will be very competitive if he can get some luck in running.

“He is coming back from competing well in a Group One (Mufhasa Classic, 1600m) and as long as he can get some luck from his barrier (11) then he has to be a strong chance,” he said.

“It is a massive drop back in class, so we will want Sam to be aggressive and hopefully have him up in the first three or four shortly after jumping. From there he will have to make his own luck, but he is well capable of doing that.

“He has been up a long time but he has thrived all the way through and looks as good now as he did back in May when he kicked off his campaign.

“As long as the weather plays ball it should be a massive crowd on course, so it is going to be an exciting day.”

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