In Vegas goes back-to-back in Gore Cup

[Wandering Eyes]

It may not have been by design, but Balcairn trainer Centaine Spittles got her hands back on the Gore Cup following In Vegas’ (NZ) (Telperion) win in the KB Contractors & MLT-sponsored 2200m feature at Wingatui on Saturday.

The seven-year-old daughter of Telperion won the southern Cup at Gore last year and Spittles didn’t have any intention of her mare defending her crown, however, the race’s transfer to Wingatui following Gore’s abandonment last week opened up a window of opportunity.

“We got a little bit lucky with them putting Gore off and transferring the Cup to Dunedin,” Spittles said. “I was never backing her up after Marlborough, we were always going to go to Dunedin (for the Dunedin Cup). That (abandonment) gave us a second chance to have a crack at that Cup.”

In Vegas headed into the race in good form, having finished runner-up in the Kumara Gold Nuggets (1810m) and Marlborough Cup (2000m) last month, giving Spittles plenty of confidence heading south.

From her outside barrier in the 10-horse field, In Vegas was taken back to settle at the rear of the field before jockey Akshay Balloo asked his charge to improve three-wide from the 800m.

In Vegas loomed ominously at the turn and after balancing up she began to wear down the leaders, capturing the lead with 100m to go and dashed away to a 1-1/4 length victory over Generation Joy.

“I was pretty confident with her going down and she ran up to what I expected,” Spittles said.

“Akshay knows her really well. I thought she was pulling too hard in the running, but he got going right when he needed to.”

The Gore Cup is the first leg of the Southern Cups Bonus Series where a $50,000 winner-takes-all bonus is up for grabs.

In Vegas’ bid last year was curtailed by injury and Spittles is intent on chasing the cash on offer, with her next target being the Listed Positive Signs + Print Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m) at Wingatui in a fortnight.

“We are going to crack onto the Dunedin Cup and then all going well we might as well go for the final and then give her a freshen-up after that,” Spittles said.

“Last year we planned on doing the series because she won the Gore Cup, but she got hurt coming home so we will have another go at it this year.”

A $500 purchase off gavelhouse.com, In Vegas has proven to be an astute buy for Spittles, with the mare having won seven and placed in 10 starts to date and has earned more than $217,000 in prizemoney.

“She has been great,” Spittles said. “She has taken a bit of time and tests your patience at times, but those ones are always worth it.”

Spittles was also pleased with the runner-up performance of stablemate Flower Moon (NZ) (All Too Hard) in the Otago Engineering (1400m).

A fellow gavelhouse graduate, Flower Moon, a daughter of stakes winner Silver Eclipse, was purchased by Spittles off Pencarrow Stud for $8,000.

She has won three races for Spittles and more than $60,000 in prizemoney, and the North Canterbury horsewoman was pleased with her effort on Saturday.

“The draw (15) didn’t help her that much, but she just seems to be a better mare when she keeps rolling around them,” Spittles said. “It was a tough run but the winner beat her fair and square.

“She is another one that is back in form. She will probably go to Ashburton in two weeks over 1400m and we may step her up to a mile somewhere to see if she can get the distance.”

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