IT was the Coffey & Co show on Sunday when Swan Hill trainer Austy and jockey Harry took over the meeting on their home track.
Harry landed a treble on the seven-race card – one for the Maher-Eustace stable and then two to help his dad to his own double.
But the win which got them both on a high was Savvy Acquisition taking out the $27,000 Pooles Accountants Handicap over 2400m.
It was a brilliant ride by Coffey and the eight-year-old Savabeel gelding’s first win in a year – and his return to form could not come at a better time.
On Saturday Coffey senior will be trucking the horse south to Warrnambool, where he will start in the $304,000 Jericho Cup – over an energy-sapping 4600m – on the Sunday.
At the same time, Coffey said he was under no illusions about his veteran’s chances come race day.
“He got into this year’s final by winning the Jericho consolation race last year, which guarantees an automatic start the next year,” Coffey said. “It’s a quality field, with some really good stayers, but you can’t win itif you’re not in it.
“Harry’s ride on Sunday was great and it is good to see Savvy Acquisition back in the winner’s circle, but it would be something of an upset if he got up.
“But it is till fantastic to be part of a big race day like this one. The Jericho is one of the most sought-after starts on the regional racing calendar.”
The Jericho is a race for heavyweight riders, so Coffey junior will be watching from the sidelines, with the stable still to sign a jockey for the race.
Sunday’s racing was another meeting gutted by scratchings – this time 31 out of 110 acceptances – but there were 42 starts by local stables and jockeys.
Then Con Kelly chimed in to watch his battler Sunset Eagle give him his first win of the new racing year, and cause the upset of the day – storming home in the last 150m of the $27,000 Busbiz.net.au Handicap over 1200m – to snatch the most unexpected of wins.
The win delighted every punter who had divined the horse’s signs of returning to form. The six-year-old mare paid a whopping $49.60 for the win.
“What’s more,” Kelly said, “she had to do it from the worst barrier as well.
“I couldn’t really believe she had won it, but at the same time I was not surprised. She had been running into form in her previous few starts – her fifth at Broken Hill was a good run and just before they hit the line I thought he was going to run second or third in a blanket finish,” he said.
Kelly also got a bit of a laugh after jockey John Keating, who started his apprenticeship in 1988, brought the horse back to scale.
“Johnny said this was the first winner he had ridden for me since he was an apprentice – and that goes back a long way.
“We bought the horse with the Pooncarie Cup in mind, and then went on to the Manangatang and Balranald – and she is still going,” he says.
“She’s had six or seven starts this prep, but she’s a good eater, a good doer and has plenty left in the tank so we’ll have a look around to see where she goes next.”
