Swan Hill trainer Austy Coffey has got a pretty big grin on his face this week after taking out the Manangatang Cup – at last.
The veteran trainer’s five-year-old gelding Bannerton – which he set for the race about five months ago – put in a rattling finish to win Coffey his first Nutrien Ag Solutions Manangatang Cup.
Coffey said he had tried several times to win the event, including with horses that were city winners, but he had always come up short.
“This old boy will give a few more bush cups a shake in the next few months,” Coffey said.
“But it was a big thrill for me to win it, especially for the horse’s connections, who have property at Bannerton, up the road from Manangatang – hence the name.
“And it was a bonus getting Sairyn Fawke to ride him as we were not sure who we could be able to get in the saddle. But a trainer mate of mine in Adelaide, John Hickmott, gave him a strong recommendation.”
Coffey said it was the first time he had met Fawke – ditto for the horse – but he added the South Australian jockey did a fantastic job.
So did the racing club, he said. Unlike most other Victorian regional clubs, Coffey said the Manangatang track was in tip top condition.
“In fact, I reckon if the cup had been a few more days away, they might have had to start watering the grass to soften the track,” he said.
The annual cup meet turned out to be a pretty good day for Swan Hill trainers.
Nathan Hobson’s Big Teddy took out the first on the card, followed by Jane Duncan in the next race watching her horse The Stock Route find the right path to success.
The trip also proved a goldmine for Fawke, who not only won the $30,000 cup for Coffey, but also took out race four and then backed up his cup win with success in the lucky last on Jeff Searle trained Good Girl Bella to complete a treble.
