The Collie Cup was the feature of the Weekend, with Here Comes Sharkie taking out the $10,000 2021 Bendigo Bank Collie Cup for trainer Matthew Scott and driver Mitchell Miller on Sunday the 19th of April.
Starting off the 10m handicap, the victory comes just seven days after the geldings last win, with the seven-year-old coming away with a gutsy win after racing three wide for the last lap, mile rating in 2:05:2 over the 2700m trip.
“I thought Here Comes Sharkie was a good each way chance, but with the standing start I wasn’t too sure, but the race worked out perfect for him, so that was a good little bonus.” Miller said.
Since entering the Matt Scott Stable in February, Here Comes Sharkie has gone on to win three races from eight starts.
Shannon Suvaljko walked away with bragging rights on Sunday with the well performed reinsman driving home three of the seven winners on the day. His winning treble kicked off in the opener when he was on board the Matt Scott trained Miss Taken NZ. After leading from start to finish, the newly imported mare was able to get her first win on West Australian soil for owner Tim Blee. In dominating fashion, the five-year-old by American Ideal USA ran away from her rivals, winning by a whopping 22.2m in 2:01:2.
After waiting six weeks for a flight out of NZ, the mare had to agist in Melbourne for five weeks until transport could be arranged for the final leg of her journey to WA, the five-year-old mare finally made it to Matt Scott’s stable in late December.
“After a pretty unsettling start, the stable has done an absolutely super job settling her down and getting her to the races,”
“She (Miss Taken NZ) is an inexperienced mare, so the country tracks are absolutely ideal for improving her race craft.”
“The times she is running and her greatly improved traceability indicates she may develop into a city horse, as well a very well-bred mare for breeding later on.” Tim Blee said.
Bleu gave trainer Michelle Blanke some nervous moments after causing a false start in the fourth, but the grey gelding redeemed himself after leading all the way, giving Suvaljko his second win in race four.
Cavalry Call gave Suvaljko a race to race double, and rounding out his treble for the day, with the $1.80 chance rewarding favourite punters in the fifth. Trained by Peter Tilbrook, the veteran pacer led all the way, winning easily by 13.9m in 2:00:4.
The favourite in the third, Miss Limelight NZ was too good for her rivals after starting from inside of the backline. Well driven by Michael Grantham, he was able to get her off the rails early and put her in to the race down the back straight, sailing away to space the field by just over 20m for trainer Michael Brennan.
Ideal Whitby made it two in a row after backing up just two days after his last win at Northam on Friday night. The Kat Warwick trained three-year-old, this time steered by Emily Suvaljko started at much longer odds but was able to get the win after settling three back on the pegs throughout and popping off to swing three wide with around 400m to go, winning by 6.6m in 2:01:4 in race two.
Collie local Bianca Ashcroft was all smiles after the last with her consistent mare How Gouda She proving to be too good for her rivals. Driven by Deni Roberts, the front marker managed to lead all the way, giving the six-year-old her fourth career win.
