Heavily supported with betting sites, Excelleration and jockey Harry Coffey took advantage of a light weight to outstay their rivals in the 160th edition of the Launceston Cup.
Bushfires in Ballarat prevented trainer Richard Cully from making the trip across Bass Strait to see the seven-year-old win the Group 3 highlight over 2400-metres after taking the Great Western Cup (1950m) in country Victoria in late January.
For Coffey, this success added to a weekend to remember when steering Queman to win the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield last Saturday.
“He was going to win the race a long way out and he travelled super,” Coffey said.
“He almost travelled too good, but Richie said to me just to sit against him for as long as you can and that he’d pull.
“You won’t be able to talk him out of it, he said, and I did have a tough time out there.
“When got to the front he had a bit of a look around bit it was his race a long way out.”
Excelleration ($2.60 favourite), a seven-year-old gelding, won by 1¼-lengths over the Patrick Payne-trained Alhambra Lad ($6) who settled better in the run compared to his rougher Hobart Cup effort with the Jason Warren-trained Grand Pierro ($8) a half-head away in third.
Aurora’s Symphony’s attempt at winning the $300,000 feature for a third time wasn’t to be as the last start Group 3 Hobart Cup (2400m) find found the 61.5-kilo impost too much towards the line.
Earlier on the card, Victorian visitor Keats ($2.70 betting app favourite) and Indispensible ($8) dead-heated in the Listed Hellova Street Stakes over 1600-metres.
