It’s a long way from the Inter-Dominion final in Perth to the Longford Cup on a country thoroughbred track in Tasmania but Melbourne owner Matt McLellan has made that journey in the past month.
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McLellan watched his star pacer Hectorjayjay finish a close second in the $1 million harness race at Gloucester Park on December 9.
With a $20,000 stake, Sunday’s Longford Cup could be considered small fry in comparison but McLellan was still clearly delighted to see his eight-year-old gelding King Manu triumph in one of the closest finishes in the history of a race first run in 1890.
McLellan has owned a share in King Manu since he started racing in Victoria in June 2012.
“I originally had only five per cent but I own 90 per cent of him now,” the owner said.
“About 12 months ago, I decided to send him to Tasmania.
“This is his third win here and he’s run a lot of minor placings.”
King Manu is trained at Seven Mile Beach by Tegan Keys whose partner Scott Brunton had won the two previous cups with Cherry Dancer and Miss It And A Bit.
For a fleeting moment, Brunton thought he had won again on Monday with Demons Run but the photo-finish showed otherwise.
In a four-way blanket finish, King Manu beat Kanji, Miss It And A Bit and Demons Run.
“Demons Run has got beaten a head and run fourth,” Brunton lamented.
“But he’s a very good horse and his turn will come. We’ll go to the Hobart and Launceston cups now.”
Brunton said that King Manu would be harder to place in future.
“This was his chance to win a nice race,” the trainer said.
“Dropping to the minimum weight was a huge factor and he appreciated the soft track.”
King Manu gave 17-year-old Melbourne apprentice Stephanie Thornton her first cup win.
“She rode the horse exactly to instructions,” Brunton said.
“I told her to let him drop out to last early then come around them.”
The annual Longford Cup meeting again attracted a good crowd estimated between 4000 and 4500.
LOCAL TRAINER Peter Luttrell got a quick return on a modest investment when Northern Command won the Maiden Plate over 1800 metres.
Luttrell bought the five-year-old only recently after seeing him advertised on an on-line auction site.
“He had to be withdrawn from the auction when he got an abscess so I contacted the owners and made them an offer,” Luttrell said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of swimming and jumping with him and I added a tongue-tie and blinkers to his gear which have helped.”
