IT was yet another 2024 Coffey Cup – first it was jockey Harry and the Caulfield Cup and then dad and trainer Austy and the Wycheproof Cup.
And as pumped as Austy was with son Harry’s Caulfield Cup, there is no doubt winning the Wyche Cup – again – ranks way up there in his personal career highlights.
For the Birchip boy, Wyche has always been the closest track to where he grew up, meaning he has always regarded it as his “home cup”.
So on Saturday, when his veteran galloper Bannerton turned on one of the runs of its life to snatch victory over the Freedman trained favourite Samurai Star in the $30,000 Elders Mt Wycheproof Cup over 1800m, his cup was, literally, running over.
Although Coffey senior was quick to point out there was a dampener on the day.
The race straight after the cup – the $20,000 Jan Miller Tribute over 1400m – was one he also really wanted to win.
“My good mate Bill Miller sponsors this in his wife Jill’s memory, and I would have loved to win it for him, but my horse Tatsuro could only manage second,” he said.
But overall the day was a triumph – and also a contrast between Austy’s bush racing world and the one which has now fully opened its doors to his son.
Barely an hour after Bannerton won the biggest slice of the $30,000 in Wycheproof, Harry was riding in the $10 million Golden Eagle at Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens, having flown there Saturday morning after winning a race at Moonee Valley on Friday night.
And then flying back in time for a book of rides at Mornington on Sunday.
“This annual meeting is a day that I look forward to every year, some of our best racing memories have come at Wyche over the years,” Austy said.
Almost certainly recalling the 2016 Mt Wycheproof Cup Day, where he landed five winners on the seven-race card – including the cup with Vianden, which was ridden by Harry and was one of six winners the 21-year-old hoop had that day.
“Not sure what he was doing in the seventh race (he ran third),” Austy laughed.
Coffey and Co would reunite with Vianden in 2017 to win the cup again.
But with Harry riding in the seriously big time, this year Austy turned to rising star Nathan Punch as his cup rider after hearing about the excellent job he had done winning the Gunbower Cup last month.
“Harry had been there that day and seen his ride and told me to get him for Wyche if I could,” Austy said.
Good advice.
Coffey senior said Punch gave the horse “a lovely run” and timed the finish to perfection against the favourite from a big city stable.
“We also picked up third in the cup with Jefferson, ridden by Rose Hammond, a further 1.4 lengths adrift,” he said.
“It was such a great day, there was a huge crowd, it really is the race that stops the Mallee and we all love it.
“But on the day, I reckon Bannerton’s owners Tony Natale and Charlie Camera loved it the most, no-one would have been able to get the cup out of their hands,” he laughed.
“With this one in the win column, we are putting Bannerton in the paddock for a week, and it will be three weeks after that to get him back ready for a race, so we will be very choosy about where we go with him next – with more than $200,000 now in prizemoney he has earned that right.”
While Harry was riding at Mornington on Sunday, his father plans to be there later this week to check out two new horses headed his way for one of his current owners.
Before then he will be in town for the Melbourne Cup, and also for the Oaks.
Just not at the track.
He has another mate who owns the Emerald Hotel in South Melbourne and Austy reckons that will be more entertaining.
