3 minute read
Terry Croft and James Ponsonby at different venues today propelled the Hawkesbury training base’s number of season winners past 150.
Croft went home with the last two winners – including the Cup – from the Parkes Showcase meeting, and Ponsonby at Queanbeyan landed his 13th winner of the current racing year.
Croft scored with $31 outsider Just A Brother (Mikayla Weir) in the Cup and $8 chance Starros (Billy Owen) in the Class 2 Handicap (1200m), whilst Ponsonby's Sonny Fella (Jason Lyon) landed the Coral Sea Cup Class 3 Handicap (1600m) at Queanbeyan as a $5.50 chance.
Six-year-old gelding Just A Brother is becoming something of a country Cups specialist.
He also won the Forbes Cup (1600m) last August, and earlier that year was third in the Wellington Cup (1700m).
"Just A Brother was a bit disappointing at Hawkesbury last month, but it was his second run back and he had been good first-up at Wyong over 1350m when held up for a run in the straight," Croft said.
"We'll probably have to look for a provincial race for him now, or perhaps even a midweek in town.
"But the Forbes Cup is only a couple of months away, and I'd like to see if we can win it for the second year in a row."
As pleased as the long-serving Hawkesbury trainer – who has won races on no less than 40 tracks in NSW and Queensland – was to see Just A Brother defeat Invertational ($6) and Sea Flames ($7), he was thrilled to land the following race with Starros.
"He was way over the odds; I couldn't believe he was such a good price," Croft said en route home.
"His last two runs at Hawkesbury were good in stronger class, and he was back to country grade."
Croft had no trouble buying Starros for only $7000 at the 2021 HTBA yearling sale held at Inglis' Riverside complex in Sydney, and the now four-year-old is a "family horse", being raced by his wife Roslyn and son Shane.
The Croft stable double on the last two races at Parkes paid $409.60 for $1 on the NSW TAB.
. Ponsonby, in only his second year of training after switching from standardbreds, paid $32,500 for Sonny Fella as an unraced early two-year-old at the 2021 Inglis Ready2Race sale.
The now Choisir four-year-old's victory at Queanbeyan was his third – his first two were at Gosford – and all have been at 1600m.
Ponsonby put winkers back on Sonny Fella after he had taken them off for his previous two starts in provincial grade at Newcastle over 1890m and 1870m.
"I thought taking the winkers off might help him relax over those slightly longer trips," he explained.
"Sonny Fella is at his best when he can free wheel, and that's what he did today outside the favorite Oneforian up in front."
The pair had the finish to themselves on the home turn and, despite carrying 1.5kg more, Ponsonby's gelding outgamed the $3 favorite in the closing stages.
