「足球三友」破場地紀錄勝出坎培拉杯
Classy Victorian stayer Blutigeroo regained top form today to win the $200,000 Kennards Hire Canberra Cup (2000m) in course record time.
Blutigeroo had been unplaced in two Victorian starts since resuming form a long spell but today was back to the form that made him a Group One winner of the $2 million BMW at Rosehill in 2007.
Trained at Caulfield by Colin Little and ridden by Sydney-based Nash Rawiller, Blutigeroo's improvement was anticipated as he landed a confident long priced betting plunge, firming from $15 to start at $9.
It was his first success since he beat Railings and Gorky Park in the G1 BMW under weight-for-age conditions over 2400m at Rosehill in March of 2007.
He has now won 12 of his 40 starts and his earnings are only $300 shy of $2 million.
Blutigeroo had almost 12 months off after he ran in the 2007 Melbourne Cup with Little now looking at a range of summer options for the flashy seven-year-old chestnut.
Sydney offers the $200,000 Summer Cup at Randwick on Boxing Day, the $200,000 Cox Stakes and $400,000 Perth Cup at Ascot on January 1 will also be considered and Little may also be tempted to head back to Tasmania with the stayer in February.
Blutigeroo won the Hobart Cup at Elwick in 2007 before his big autumn that saw him win the BMW and finish fifth in the Australian Cup and Sydney Cup.
A fast pace set by tearaway leaders made the race for the true stayers with Blutigeroo's time of 2.01.9 a record for the 2000m although comparisons to past Canberra Cups are erroneous as the course proper was rebuilt two years ago.
Rawiller was riding Blutigeroo for the first time and had him well positioned in midfield on the fence to the home turn where it was apparent it the leaders could not sustain the fast pace.
He claimed the lead in the last 100m and was able to hold off the late finish of the favourite Imvula, who filled his third successive minor placing in feature races after finishing second in the Werribee and Bendigo Cups.
Imvula will now be spelled.
Local mare Vintage Rock ran a big race for third as she had to chase the leaders into the straight and fought on strongly to hold the minor placing ahead of Ready To Lift and the topweight Nuclear Sky, who came from near last on the turn.
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