Smart galloper Geegees Baritone will be chasing another feature win at Spreyton on Friday as he gets ready for next month’s Devonport Cup.
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The six-year-old is topweight for the $25,000 Golden Mile, one of the two key leads-up to the $100,000 cup on January 10.
He failed in the same race last year but bounced back to win the $25,000 Sheffield Cup over the same distance 17 days later.
On the strength of that win, he was well fancied to win the Devonport Cup when he came from a long way back to finish a handy sixth to Powercharged.
Siggy Carr rode Geegees Baritone to his Sheffield Cup win and is back on board the Team Wells-trained gelding for the 12th time on Friday night.
She is the only jockey to have won multiple races on the son of Wordsmith, with her 11 rides netting four wins and two placings.
The Golden Mile has attracted a small but competitive field including Sound Bar and Kanji who also contested the race last year.
They finished sixth and ninth respectively.
The appearance of last-start Moonee Valley winner Brilliant Jet adds interest to the race.
Brilliant Jet also won at Kilmore, Grafton and the Gold Coast while his trainer Aiden Nunn was on a polo-playing 10-month trip up and down the eastern seaboard.
The five-year-old has been racing over longer distances but his good form entitles him to plenty of respect.
LUCKY ESCAPE
Jockey Shuji Amano had a lucky escape from serious injury in an horrific fall in the last race at Mowbray on Wednesday night.
Amano’s mount Tillation broke down badly and fell rounding the home turn.
The jockey hit the ground with considerable force and was treated by ambulance attendants for some time before being taken to hospital.
He sustained facial injuries, mainly to the cheekbone, but was hoping to be released from hospital on Friday.
Tillation had to be put down.
EMOTIONAL WIN
The same race saw an emotional win by the Barry Campbell-trained Axion.
The gelding is part-owned by Canberra trainer Garry Kirkup who was critically injured in a car accident in New South Wales last Sunday.
Kirkup’s partner, jockey Samara Johnson, died in the crash.
The Canberra Times reported on Thursday that Kirkup had come out of an induced coma but was still “gravely ill”.
Kirkup has sent two horses to Campbell that have won in recent weeks.
Axion completed a treble for Campbell and visiting Victorian rider Damien Thornton.