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The Moorabool News – 25 January, 2022 Page 21
You may have seen Facebook has blocked news publishers from posting news content. Jack and Louis claim third Cup We’re still here to provide you with FREE local news in Print and Online. Ballarat Pacing Cup Winner: Spirit of St Louis (1). Trainer: Belinda McCarthy. Driver: Jack Callaghan. Photo: Stuart McCormick.
By Michael Howard and Tim O'Connor (HRV)
Spirit Of St Louis stamped himself as the horse of the summer with a stunning Ballarat Pacing Cup win, showing speed early and late to claim an unforgettable edition of the $110,000 classic. Having arrived in Victoria a tick over a fortnight ago with a reputation as the number three in Belinda McCarthy’s powerful stable, the just-turned five-year-old has teamed with 20-year-old reinsman Jack Callaghan to add the Ballarat crown to the Shepparton and Bendigo cups won in previous weeks. It's an amazing haul and the Group 1 win, the second of Callaghan’s young career, will have Spirit Of St Louis among the leading contenders in the February 5 Del-Re National A. G Hunter Cup, the ultimate prize in Victorian trots.
“It’s pretty cool,” Callaghan told TrotsVision. “I won a (Group 1) a couple of years ago but it was definitely not the prestige of this. This is what you dream of as a kid. “I believed in the horse. He had to do it a bit different than I thought at the start but I knew how good he is and he proved it tonight.” The Ballarat Cup was action packed throughout with Spirit Of St Louis holding off an early challenge from Max Delight before ceding the lead to favourite Lochinvar Art. However, reinsman Chris Alford kicked up again on Max Delight and claimed and then gave the lead back to Lochinvar Art, which shuffled back Spirit Of St Louis. And the moves kept coming. As Max Delight crossed, Luke McCarthy surged forward on Expensive Ego to claim the top, with Lochinvar Art sliding
in behind him and Spirit Of St Louis extracted into the breeze, as they set a blistering 77.9-second lead time, some six seconds quicker than in last year’s Cup. Our Uncle Sam covered Spirit Of St Louis in the breeze while the third-wide line formed headed by Mach Da Vinci, and as the latter faded in the final 400 metres it set Spirit Of St Louis and Amazing Dream free from the running line. The former would hold off Amazing Dream to win by a halfneck, with Lochinvar Art and Expensive Ego boxing on well to fill out the first four and continue their Hunter Cup build ups. “It was definitely action packed that’s for sure,” Callaghan said. “I didn’t really know what to think. Then I got a bit of cover and luckily it all worked out.”
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