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Kiwia wins 2018 Ballarat Cup Listed $350,000 at Ballarat (VIC), 2200m.
Having his fourth start since resuming after his third in the Brisbane Cup (Gr 2, 2200m) at Doomben in June, the Darren Weirtrained gelding Kiwia scored a good win here.
He settled nicely in ninth place on the rails under John Allen, got along the inner approaching the home turn, stuck to the rails and challenged at the 200m and finished gamely to win well in a solid staying performance.
Pilote D’Essai, winner of this race two years ago, ran a bold race. Starting at $51, he went to the front, picked up the tempo from 800m and held a clear advantage on turning for home and then battled gamely for a good second. Life Less Ordinary raced back in 11th place, between runners, before making a wide move nearing the home turn.
He then kept running on well under his top weight (60kg) for third. The favourite Lucky For All , a stablemate of the winner, raced in a handy fifth place but weakened after going too keenly to finish second last in the 14-horse field.