The 2023 John Carlton Cup (1190m) headlined the first day of the 2023 Grafton July Carnival on Sunday, and the open handicap sprint didn’t disappoint.
A terrific field assembled for the $30,000 event, and with a guaranteed place in the $200,000 Ramornie Handicap on July 12 up for grabs, there was plenty on the line.
In a superb finish, the Lou Mary-trained Proverbial ($2.70) won the race, and Andrew Mallyon gave the Scone galloper the perfect ride.
The five-year-old brought up career win number five as she dug deep to hold off the Andrew Parramore-trained Andy (Anthony Allen, $5.50) by a half-length, while in third and three-quarters of a length back was the Allan Chau-trained Iring (Sean Cormack, $13).
“It was a ten-out-of-ten ride from Andrew, and that’s why we went for Andrew,” May said.
“We offered the ride to Dylan (Gibbons), but he was in Sydney yesterday (Saturday), so Andrew was on, and he did a fantastic job.
“He put her in a lovely position, got her into the right part of the track, and she was just too strong late.”
Proverbial, who was Mary’s first Highway winner back in June 2022, entered the event four weeks after her second win in a Highway after taking out the 1100m Class Three at Rosehill Gardens on June 3.
Making the win all the more remarkable, Mary explained that it was her first win over six furlongs.
“She’s never won over that distance; this was her first time; she’s only won over 1100m,” Mary said.
“Any jockeys that have ridden her have told me she will be better over 1200m, so she’s done the job today, and we’re looking forward to returning here in 10 days.”
The $200,000 Ramornie Handicap will be a more challenging test, and Mary hopes for a reasonable effort as he prepares Proverbial for a potential tilt at the $2 million Kosciuszko on October 14.
“That was the plan all along,” Mary said.
“I think she’s got the right attributes to go for a Kosciuszko.
“We talked about it last year, but we didn’t think she was exposed quite enough, but this year, we took a deep breath, said we would be smarter, and we thought we’d have a crack at the Ramornie, and hopefully she can run (in the) top three or top four and show what she is about.
“She goes on any sort of tracks; she is a trier, and she can be ridden forward and back”.
Proverbial’s win in the John Carlton Cup put the exclamation mark on a terrific day at Grafton.
Preludes headline opening meeting of Grafton July carnival
On Sunday, the annual July XXXX Carnival kicked off in grand style at Grafton’s Clarence River Jockey Club.
The first of five meetings held at Grafton over 15 days offered a Smorgasbord of Preludes to major races later in the carnival.
In the biggest win of the day, the Pat Murphy-trained and Ben Looker-ridden Our Bambino claimed the Grafton Cup Prelude (click here for story), with the six-year-old Fiorente gelding booking his place in the $200,000 Grafton Cup, which will be run and won in Thursday, July 13.
The Springboard Prelude Maiden Plate (1015m), which is a precursor to the Springboard To Fame 2YO Showcase Plate (1200m) on Grafton Cup Day, was won by the Scott Henley-trained Volcanic Love ($2.40).
Ridden by Anthony Allen, the Grafton galloper was on debut but proved to be a class above his rivals and will be one to watch in the $45,000 feature on July 13.
Damien Lane and Digger McLellan combined for a double on the day and won the Grafton Guineas Prelude 3YO Benchmark 66 Handicap (1420m) with Deep Opinions ($2.35).
The Wyong galloper was just too good in the race, finishing hard and fast to claim victory and take his record to 11 starts for four wins.
Connections will hope for a similar effort in the $80,000 Grafton Guineas Quality (1600m) on Wednesday, July 12.
Tamworth visitor Sue Grills took out the inaugural Country Boosted Belflyer Prelude Class 3 Handicap (1115m), with Casey Waddell guiding Small Town ($4.20) to a comfortable front-running win.
The four-time winner will head to the $50,000 Belflyer on Thursday, July 13.
Racing returns to Grafton on Sunday, July 9, for the club’s South Grafton Cup (1600m) and Big Dance qualifier before the Ramornie Handicap meeting on Wednesday, July 12, Grafton Cup meeting on Thursday, July 13, and finally, the Maclean Cup race day on Sunday, July 16.
For more on the July XXXX Carnival, click here.
For Grafton results, click here.
