SPORT
Snake owes
fans Cup win
By GREGOR
MACTAGGART
SEYMOUR Snake will repay his owners faith in the
best way possible if he wins
today’s
$25,000
Shenannigans St Patrick’s
Day Cup (1600m).
PUB: NT NEWS
Expect better from Adebisi today, says trainer
BRISBANE: Trainer Desleigh Forster is confident Adebisi can silence his critics and book
an ambitious Brisbane winter campaign in
the Nestle Handicap at Doomben today.
Adebisi has been black-listed by some
punters after going down twice as the heavilybacked favourite at his only two starts
this campaign.
The son of Shovhog bore the biggest brunt
of criticism last start when he led until the
final stages before surrendering meekly to
finish second to Hidden Kisses at Eagle Farm.
Jockey Shane Scriven was later berated by
stewards for the manner in which he transferred the whip from his left hand in the
straight, having placed the whip in his mouth
while changing hands.
‘‘I think the criticism in the papers of the
horse’s run has been unfair and a bit harsh,’’
Forster said.
‘
’
Cup market
MARKET for the $25,000
Shenannigans St Patrick’s Day
Cup (1600m), Fannie Bay today
4.00 Aventine, 5.50 Jorston,
7.00 Only For You, Carneggan
Jester, 8.00 Seymour Snake,
10.00 Paternity, Muggadi, Leica
Con, 11.00 Belong To Loire, Rose
Marie, 14.00 Hannesburg, 21.00
Mossgreen.
Market courtesy Sportingbet
olds last time and won
going away.’’ Asked for her
thoughts on a danger —
Williams (pictured) summed
up the feelings
of
most
people trying to work
out the
2010
edition of
the Cup.
‘‘It’s a
pretty good
field and
has always been a tough race
to win,’’ she said.
‘‘Carneggan Jester won it
last year. Scotty (Hillebrand)
must think Only For You is
the right one to get on, Paternity is a good shot as an
open horse coming down.
‘‘You shouldn’t be disappointed if you run in the first
six, but win it and you’ll
be ecstatic.’’
Sportingbet posted
Aventine a $4.00 favourite last
night ahead of the Stephen
Brown pair Jorston ($5.50)
and Only For You ($7.00), with
defending champion
Carneggan Jester also
at $7.00.
Shocking news — he’s out of Cup
MELBOURNE Cup winner
Shocking is out of today’s
Australian Cup — for the second
time in a week.
In a bizarre series of events
Shocking was a race-morning
scratching last Saturday with a
foot abcess, but was reinstated in
to the field when betting resumed
on the postponed race on
Wednesday.
But trainer Mark Kavanagh’s
optimism of Shocking (pictured)
taking his place after a workout on
Wednesday turned sour yesterday
when he reported the injury had
flared again.
Kavanagh said the set back
meant the end to his autumn
campaign and he would spell
instead of going to Sydney.
All bets on Shocking since fields
were declared last Wednesday
week will be refunded.
In revised TAB Sportsbet
markets Heart Of Dreams is $5.50
after last week’s washout.
Linton takes on the best
sprinter-miler three year-old in
the land in Denman ($1.65 fav) in
the $750,000 Crown Guineas
(1600m) while TAB Sportsbet
reported Zipping ($8.50 to $7) was
the best backed $1m Australian
Cup (2000m) runner in the past 24
hours before Shocking’s defection.
‘‘Zipping is as good as ever. He’s
enjoyed less time off since the
spring . We’ve never bothered
training him for the autumn in the
past but’s liking it,’’ Williams said.
Zipping is yet to win a Group 1
after 14 tries but he does have
credits of Group One placings in
two Cox Plates, the Mackinnon
favourite with Zipping at $6.
Stakes and the Turnbull Stakes.
Owner Lloyd Williams is in with
Williams was even more
a realistic chance to land his first
enthusiastic about Linton.
Group 1 double with emerging
‘‘They grey is shining this
star Linton ($5) and stable
morning. He’s ready to run
favourite Zipping in today’s
rescheduled Flemington Group 1s 2000m,’’ he said.
Brothers in arms in Flemington features
er1014858/10
DATE: 13-MAR-2010 PAGE: 80 COLOR: C M Y K
MAY THE LUCK BE WITH YOU: Julia Donat gives Seymour Snake a few words of
encouragement ahead of his task today in the Shenannigans St Patrick’s Day Cup at
Fannie Bay
Picture: FIONA MORRISON
Trainer Lynne Williams
has three runners in the
renowned March feature at
Fannie Bay, but you get the
feeling victory by the fiveyear-old chestnut gelding
would mean the most.
Williams is a part-owner of
Seymour Snake along with
partner Tom Pike, Jim Kerr,
Marilyn Harvey, well-known
NT football identity Garry
Smart and Cavenagh St TAB
owner Ted Geracitano.
Seymour Snake certainly
tested the patience of those
owners over the journey with
one win from his first 35
starts before turning the corner last November.
He was successful over the
mile on November 13 and
repeated the dose three weeks
later (December 4) at the same
trip, probably just in the nick
of time according to Williams.
‘‘If it wasn’t for Ted, Jim,
Smarty and Marilyn — who
just love him — he would
have stayed in Perth,’’
Williams said. ‘‘They wanted
him to come back up here and
I thought he would be a good
winter horse down there, but
I said we’ll give him one more
go — he’s been really good
and always earned a cheque
so I can’t complain.’’
Williams described English
jockey Colin Haddon as the
main reason behind Seymour
Snake’s change from reluctant winner to genuine St
Pat’s Cup contender.
‘‘Colin knows him well - he
rides all his work and I think
Seymour Snake trusts him,
the horse runs for him,’’
she said.
As far as Haddon is concerned, it will be business as
usual aboard Seymour Snake
from barrier 11 in the 12horse field.
‘‘He’ll get back as he
usually does and run home
hard — it’s just a case of
getting a clear run with him,’’
Haddon said.
Even
though
He’s been
Seymour
really good
Snake is
the headand always
line act,
earned a
Rose Marie
and
cheque so
Mossgreen
I can’t
also carry
complain
Williams’
hopes of a
second St Patrick’s Day Cup
success following Teleprint’s
shock 2007 win.
‘‘It’s just a shame Rose
Marie drew wide (barrier 12)
because it is so hard from the
mile,’’ she said.
‘‘If she had drawn a gate I
reckon she would have been a
really good chance — she will
get a good mile because she
just settles, hopefully she gets
a bit of luck in the run.
‘‘I’ve always thought
Mossgreen wants the ground,
she finished off the 1300m
really good even though it
was against the three-year-
80 — Northern Territory News, Saturday, March 13, 2010
BROTHERS Rightfully Yours and Heart Of Dreams will be
looking to pull off a feature race double for the second time
when they contest the Group Two Blamey Stakes and Group
One Australian Cup respectively at Flemington today.
They face a similar scenario to last September when on the
same day Rightfully Yours won first-up in the Listed South
Yarra Stakes (1200m) and Heart Of Dreams took out the
Group One Underwood Stakes (1800m).
Both horses are by Show A Heart from Royal Academy mare
www.ntnews.com.au
Academy Of Dreams with five-year-old Rightfully Yours a year
older than Heart Of Dreams.
While Rightfully Yours is yet to win a Group One race he has
proved a more than useful performer winning nine of his
22 starts.
A last-start Group Three winner of the Carlyon Cup
(1400m) when resuming at Caulfield, the gelding is chasing
his most important success in the Blamey and will be on trial
for a crack at similar races in Sydney later this autumn.