Baglioni was tough as guts when winning Friday’s Woolgoolga Cup (1300m) at Coffs Harbour.
Trained on course by Brett Bellamy and ridden by his daughter and two-kilogram claiming apprentice, Courtney Bellamy, the five-year-old looked gone for all money with a furlong to go, with the Brett Dodson-trained Olakau’atu looming as the likely danger.
Still, Baglioni ($44) defied this commentator’s early crow and a fast-finishing Olakau’atu (Braith Nock, $4), winning by half-a-length, while 1.42 lengths back in third was the Brett Cavanough-trained Bonjour Rupert (Andrew Gibbons, $6.50).
Baglioni, a former Victorian from the Greg Eurell yard, had raced 23 times for three wins and four placings before arriving at Bellamy’s stables, and he was obviously in good nick, winning first-up and only four weeks after his last run down south.
“He’s been going to the beach and having a lovely time of it since coming up from the cold country, and I said to Courtney before she came out, ‘You just be positive early’, and I said, ‘I reckon he’ll do the rest for you’,” Bellamy said.
The victory was 28 years in the making, with Bellamy last winning the Woolgoolga Cup when it was an 800m Open Sprint in 1995.
On that day, Gary Thompson rode Clear Direction to a good win in the then $4,000 event, which paid $3000 to the winner, but this time, connections will take home just shy of $14,000.
“I’ve got to say thanks to Neville Murdoch, who’s down the South Coast, for sending these little fast ones up here,” Bellamy said.
“He (Baglioni) was coming back from 2000m to 1300m, and he’s put my plans out of play because he is no longer a Class Three horse, and I can’t go to Taree anymore, but I think the $44 for the win is worth it.”
Making the victory all the more special is that Courtney Bellamy rode the horse, and she touched on an impressive win in the Coffs Harbour feature.
“We drew awkwardly, and this was his first start for dad, and there was going to be that ‘Where will he be, where won’t he be’, but I gave him a dig forward, and he travelled there quite easily,” Courtney Bellamy said.
“He got up there and had horses to pull him into the race, and off he went and let down nicely.
“He’s still a bit green but he finished off really well.”
On a big Friday of racing at Coffs Harbour, jockeys Andrew Gibbons and Andrew Mallyon rode doubles.
Mallyon teamed up with Kris Lees, winning on Barclaps ($3.50) in the 1000m Maiden Plate and Oakfield Wallaby ($3.60) in the 1400m Maiden Plate.
Gibbons recorded a running double on the Wayne Wilkes-trained Your Temptation ($3.90) in the 2000m Class One/Maiden before guiding the Stirling Osland-trained Lost Media ($3) to a good win in the 1000m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
For all results from Coffs Harbour, click here.
