MORNINGTON trainer Mark Riley hopes to continue a country cups campaign with gutsy Victorian stayer Gold In Dubai following his all-the-way victory in the listed Ipswich Cup.
Gold In Dubai was rated perfectly in front by Michael Walker to score by 2¼ lengths from the fast-finishing Danagaze in yesterday’s 2150-metre feature.
Topweight Our Lukas produced a brave performance in his attempt to win three successive Ipswich cups, finishing a neck away third.
Riley, 49, rarely ventures to Queensland, but was always confident the son of Desert Sun was worth the trip north to chase the race’s $200,000 prizemoney.
Riley will wait for the release of weights for the listed Caloundra Cup (2400 metres) on July 2 before committing the five-year-old to another Queensland start.
”I’ll see how he pulls up first and then look at the weights, but I’d like to run him at Caloundra,” Riley said.
Riley’s father, Martin, has been looking after Gold In Dubai while in Queensland.
”We brought him out of retirement to do it,” Riley said.
”It’s a great thrill to win this race and there’s every chance if he runs at Caloundra that we might try for the Grafton Cup on the way home.”
Riley praised Walker for putting him on the right track with Gold In Dubai.
”Michael rode him about five runs back in a sprint race and said then he thought he was a stayer,” Riley said. ”He’s partly responsible for us being here.”
Riley said Walker carried out his instructions perfectly on Gold In Dubai, whose recent transformation to a middle distance was helped by many long days doing beach work.
Trainer Lawrie Mayfield-Smith was proud of Danagaze’s effort, but won’t seek a rematch with Gold In Dubai in the Caloundra Cup.
■Months of planning paid big dividends at Ipswich when Sydney sprinter Adnocon scored back-to-back wins in the $175,000 Eye Liner Stakes.
Having his first start in four months, Adnocon defined a betting drift to score a neck win in yesterday’s 1350-metre listed event and set up another tilt at the Glasshouse Handicap in two weeks.
Confidently ridden by Damian Browne, Adnocon ($10) overcame a wide trip to beat the well-supported Gundy Son ($4.40 favourite) by a neck, with Drenalin ($8.50) a half-neck back third.
Winning trainer Gerald Ryan wasn’t at Ipswich, but his travelling foreman Brad Banfield said the plan for consecutive Eye Liners was hatched three months ago.
”Gerald and I sat down to work out what we would bring up for the carnival and it was then that he told me he wanted to set this horse for the Eye Liner,” Banfield said.
AAP