Home-grown: Donna Gaskin and Michael Cornish with Cape Mount ahead of Tuesday’s Echuca races. Photo: Steve Huntley
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steve Huntley.
Win, lose or draw, Full Ahead’s journey to Mackinnon Stakes Day will not have been for nothing.
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With her latest win at Yarra Glen qualifying her for a $150,000 final at Flemington on Saturday, November 6, co-trainer Donna Gaskin said the hope was the mare would be competitive.
“We thought, you don’t get qualified for these races often, so we’ll give her a crack,” Gaskin said.
“They are always tough and hard races.
“We’ll be praying for some rain, because she does love the wet. The wetter the better.
“But she’s already had a lot of runs this prep, so win, lose or draw, she’ll go out to the paddock.
“She’s had five races in 32 days, but she backs up week after week.
“She ran second at Bendigo over 2400m the week before then wins at Yarra Glen over 1950m.”
It has been a stunning run of form for the six-year-old, who after just four runs into her latest preparation found herself in unknown territory with a 13th, ninth and two sixths to her name.
Beauty: The Cornish-Gaskin-trained Full Ahead will head to town next Saturday after qualifying for a $150,000 final at Flemington. Photo: Steve Huntley
Photo by
steve Huntley.
“She hadn’t got up to her right trip, she was only up to 1600m, and one of the owners sent an email out, and said ‘I think it could be the right time to retire her and move her on’,” Gaskin said.
“A couple others sent back, ‘how about we let her get back up to her right trip and see what she does?’ She won her next two a week apart.”
Closer to home, Cornish and Gaskin’s stable will be well represented at Echuca Racing Club’s Melbourne Cup day meeting on Tuesday.
Running second-up in the BM58 Handicap over 1600m will be Cape Mount, who recently ran fourth at Wodonga following an 18-week spell.
Cornish said the five-year-old gelding was working towards the longer distances.
“He ran a good first-up, and he’s still pretty young for a stayer in the making,” Cornish said.
“He’ll run a big race on Tuesday.”
Five-year-old Bolden Beau is nominated for the same race, while Haarping and Brony’s Reward could be in the running to break their maidens.
Even without crowds trackside on Tuesday, Gaskin said training a local winner was always a thrill, especially when it had local owners, as was the case with Cape Mount.
“It would be great for a horse like him to win, because he is locally owned,” she said.
“He is second-up going into the mile, he’s a stayer, better at the 2000m, 2100m, but he’s normally thereabouts, even over the shorter trips.
“He ran fourth over 1400m, goes to the mile, and hopefully is competitive again.”
Madam Superior, who won in town in February, is expected to return from a spell later this year for the night series at Moonee Valley.
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