Image – Racing Victoria/Brett Holburt.
Donna Scott’s decision to bypass Sydney and take Our Last Cash to Melbourne on Saturday paid off, with the Albury galloper thriving on the Flemington straight when winning the 1100m Benchmark 70 Handicap.
Ridden by champion jockey Craig Williams, the six-year-old commenced nicely from gate five, sitting third as Avid General (Luke Campbell, $101) and Smile and Wave (Craig Newit, $8) led the field along.
Upon linking with the course proper, and with around 500m to go, Our Last Cash ($13) burst to the front, and going great guns for Williams, he put nearly three lengths on the field, with the Ben, Will, and JD Hayes-trained Anilla (Daniel Stackhouse, $4.80) finishing second while the Mathew Ellerton-trained Starlea (Matthew Cartright, $9) ran in third.
Scott was thrilled with the win, as was the gelding’s ownership group which could be heard cheering loudly as he crossed the line in first.
“Look, it’s all family; my sister and brother-in-law, so yes, what a big thrill,” Scott told Racing.com in her interview after the race.
Scott, who has already confirmed with NSW Country and Picnic Racing her plans to try and get Our Last Cash into the 2023 Kosciuszko, explained why she bypassed Sydney for Flemington.
“He’s highly rated, and we’re in the country, and we did think about going to Sydney, but he sweats up and is a bit quirky,” Scott said.
“We thought the three-and-half-hour trip would be easier than the six-hour trip to Sydney and obviously, he is a half (brother) to Lord Von Costa, who loved the straight, so we thought, let’s have a crack down here.”
Lord Von Costa (Von Costa de Hero x Cashed Up Lady) was a three-time Flemington winner, registering victories in the 2016 Listed A.R Creswick Final (1200m) and the 2020 Quality All Victorian Sprint Series Final (1200m) and Scott believes Our Last Cash (Magnus x Cashed Up Lady) can be better.
“Lord Von Costa was great, but I think this horse has probably got a little bit more ability,” Scott said.
“He is just very quirky; he sweats up a bit, and he’s a bit hard to manage but if he can do everything right, I think he is a little bit better than him.”
Scott will likely take Our Last Cash back to Flemington, but with connections eyeing a slot in the $2 million Kosciuszko, which will be run at Royal Randwick on October 14, the gelding may end up heading to Sydney for his next start.
“I know there are not too many more (straight races), but we’ll give him a little break after this, take the feedback from Craig, see what he thinks and go from there with him, but these are very exciting times.”
Scott and her team will race a little closer to home on Tuesday, with a team of two runners engaged on the Gundagai Sky 1 Program.
For Flemington results, click here.
For Gundagai fields, click here.
