HE didn’t get his first Swan Hill Cup, he came second.
And he finished well back in the Golden Topaz.
But star Swan Hill jockey Harry Coffey did win the third big race of the Swan Hill Cup Carnival when he landed the $125,000 Elvstroem Classic on the opening day of the three-day event.
A win nobody particularly expected from the 11/1 Cavity Bay – except perhaps Coffey himself and the McEvoy stable which trains the filly.
Just to keep hearts pumping, the win was also classic Coffey, a head bob here and a neck stretch there and he got over the line by something between that.
It was Coffey’s second Elvstroem, something of a consolation as he continues to hunt that increasingly elusive hometown cup.
The race, one of the most sought-after sprints on the regional racing calendar, is named after the superstar racehorse and stallion, which amassed career earnings of $5.72 million with wins including the Victoria Derby and Caulfield Cup, and the Underwood, CF Orr and St George stakes, before retiring to become a stud horse.
In his first season alone, he covered 166 mares at $38,500 per service, to gross $6.4 million. In 2016 he joined a breeding farm in France.
It’s a dazzling story which began with his first win as a two-year-old maiden at the Swan Hill Cup Carnival in 2003.
But in 2024, he still lives on in Swan Hill in name, and this time it was Cavity Bay whose name shared the trophy.
“That was a great win, she did a brilliant job and it is well documented Tony and Calvin (McEvoy) and their team are having a great season with their two-year-olds,” Coffey said.
“And this filly has certainly put as little more icing on that cake.
“It’s such a good effort for her to come here, lead and then hold them off all the way down the straight.
“To do all that and be first up from a spell was a really terrific effort.”
Coffey said although this was only Cavity Bay’s third career start, he had to admit the filly was already a lot smarter at the track.
He said early on she was a little bit wayward at stages, but that was also because it was all new to her.
“But this time in, obviously those couple of other runs have done her the world of good,” Coffey said.
“She’s come back, she has trialled really well, Will Price gave her a trial the other morning at Stawell, where she went really nicely, and in the gallops I’ve ridden her at home she’s been really flying.
“I think Rayan (Moore, the McEvoy racing manager) and Tony and Calvin decided to put winkers on her to help her concentrate – and it definitely worked because she was on the job today, and that made my job so much easier.
“And it was a pretty awesome feeling when she was fighting hard down the inside and stuck her head out – it was a really tough effort from an honest filly.
“It’s so cool to win an Elvstroem Classic when you think a horse like that launched its career here in Swan Hill.
“It’s great there is a race named after him and it’s a great honour to win two of them so far – and I would love to keep adding to them.”
