Dean Mirfin will have at least two runners in the $1 million Country Championships final at Royal Randwick in early April, following Saturday’s Central Districts qualifier at Mudgee.
Taking on the $150,000 event, the Bathurst trainer had three starters, and it was Tom Vegas (Mathew Cahill, $5.50) that flashed through on the inside to take a 0.35 length victory from his fast-finishing stablemate Turned Down (Zac Wadick, $10) while in third and nearly a half-length away was the David Smith-trained Instead (Zoe Hunt, $19).
It was always the plan to have Tom Vegas ready for the Country Championships, with the 3YO Peltzer gelding tested in black type company late last year after showing good ability when winning the Bathurst Gold Nugget as a 2YO.
“I’m thrilled that I won; it’s absolutely fantastic,” Mirfin said after the win.
“We had him in the Gloaming Stakes and some nice races last year, and we were contemplating running him in the Spring Champions Stakes.
“I said to his owner, we’ll pull the pin and we’ll bring him back for the Country Championships, and he’s had a faultless preparation, and in both races I wanted to run him in, he ran well.”
Third up into the qualifier, Tom Vegas raced around midfield after jumping from gate five, and it was a terrific steer by Cahill, who opted for the inside path to victory.
Turned Down – a 5YO Staphanos gelding – was doing his best work late in the event and was another Mirfin galloper set for a Country Championships campaign.
“He’s a really lovely horse, and anyone would love to train him,” Mirfin said.
“He’s a horse that from a year ago, we thought would make a nice Country Championships horse, and we’ve raced him sparingly, and here we are.”
With the Northern Rivers and Central Districts qualifiers now in the books, Country Championships action heads to Port Macquarie on Sunday for the Mid North Coast heat.
