Two local gallopers to run on big stage

CRAIG Weeding and Ben Brisbourne will both have runners in Tuesday’s $3 million Big Dance at Randwick. The Big Dance is a recent initiative created in 2022 by Peter V’Landys and NSW Country Cup performed horses (first and second placed) the chance to run in a multi-million dollar race. Weeding’s Prince Of Helena gained entry through winning the Narrandera Cup and is a $51 outsider in the futures markets, while Brisbourne’s Suparazi took out the Snake Gully Cup and is on the fifth line of betting at $11. Weeding’s Prince Of Helena ran in last year’s edition but was at the rear of the field and the local trainer believes he learnt lessons from that outing. “We’re really happy with the progress we’ve made with him,” Weeding said. “We’ve done things a bit differently this year, we learnt a fair bit from last year. “His run at Caulfield last start (third in BM84) was really encouraging and the horse that won that race went on and won the Crystal Mile on Cox Plate Day so the form in lining up. “He had a really good winter as well.” For Brisbourne’s Suparazi, the six-year-old gelding has been in super touch recently running second, 2.25 lengths behind one of the country’s most exciting horses in Jimmysstar two starts ago in the listed Weekend Hussler Stakes. He then backed that run up with a sixth place finish in the group two Crystal Mile on Saturday, around three lengths off the winner in Plenty of Ammo. “He’s in perfect order and his form is as good as it can be I think,” Brisbourne said. “On Saturday he got the mile run he needed and ran really well, he just got too far back which can happen at Moonee Valley. “His sectionals were terrific and I couldn’t be any happier with him.” Brisbourne has booked Tim Clark to ride his star with barrier draws and tempo to determine where he’d like to settle in the field. “It’s going to be great for him to get down in the weights and get some relief from those horses at the top,” he said. “Tim Clark is on him which will be the third jockey to ride him in his past three starts so hopefully that won’t be too much of a problem. “We’ve got his racing pattern pretty well tied up now, a lot will depend on barrier draw and speed in the race but as long as he's not in the first or last pairs we’ll be pretty happy.” Brisbourne said it’s great to have a fellow Wangaratta galloper in the race. “It’s unreal to have two Wangaratta horses in the race,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of horses locally but not a great pool of depth so to get two in a big race like this is just great for the town.” Five or six years ago country trainers would’ve only dreamed of races like the Big Dance but now it’s a reality with the $2 million Kosciusko another of those initiatives. “I love it, it’s a great initiative,” Weeding said. “Country trainers having the chance to race for this kind of money was unheard of five or six years ago. “It creates interest, gives country trainers good exposure and generates plenty of talk so it’s terrific.”

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