Craig Weeding can make Narrandera Cup history on Sunday with champion country galloper, Prince Of Helena.
The rising 9YO is a nine-time winner, earning connections $445,873 during his storied career, and on Sunday, his name could be written into racing folklore.
No horse has ever won three Narrandera Cups, nor has a trainer won three in a row, and with Prince Of Helena, a winner of the Narrandera Cup in 2023 and 2024, the pair are shooting for a historic victory.
“It would be nice,” Weeding told Country Punter.
“He’s such a consistent horse and turns up every season.
“He’s run four top-four finishes in the Swan Hill Cup as well, which says a lot about how consistent he is.”
Holly Durnan (63kg) won on the Wangaratta galloper in 2023, and Jason Lyon (57.5kg) got the job done in 2024.
On Sunday, Milos Bunjevac (60kg) has been charged with getting the job done for connections.
Weeding wasn’t worried about the weight, especially after his galloper ran a gallant fifth, beaten 4.3 lengths, by Jimmy The Bear in the David Bourke (1620m) at Flemington on June 21, and he is confident Bunjevac will present Prince Of Helena for a crack at them when the time is right.
“I think it’s a really nice race for him,” Weeding said.
The form around Jimmy The Bear stacks up nicely for a Narrandera Cup, and I think he gets in fairly with the weights when you look at the other horses in the race.
“He draws well (with gate one), and Milos will just ride him where he is comfortable and get him out when he needs to; they should get a soft run.”
Stablemate Yam, a winner of his last three starts, won’t race in the Narrandera Cup on Sunday and will instead head to Bendigo, where he’s expected to get favourable conditions in the 1600m Benchmark 64 Handicap.
Hannah Edgley rides Yam, and another stablemate, Ruperts Red Rocket, who will start in the 1300m Benchmark.
Racing at Wodonga on Sunday, Jake Duffy is in the saddle when jumping aboard Coomoroo Lady in the 1590m Benchmark 58 Handicap.
In what could be a massive day for the stable, Weeding also has last-start Wagga Winter Sprint winner Big Day Out taking on Narrandera’s Narrungdera Yarraman Sprint (1000m).
The seven-year-old is a 10-time winner and is racing as well as ever.
“It’s a nice race for him; we beat all those horses at Wagga last start,” Weeding said.
“He’s racing well following a big break over summer after a trip to Adelaide, and he’s come back on fresh legs.
“We’ve spaced his runs a bit, and he’s an easy horse to train; this is a great race for him.”
Already a winner at Narrandera, Big Day Out draws a tad awkwardly with gate 7, and Milos Bunjevac takes the ride.
With only a few weeks left in the 2024/25 racing season, the Weeding Racing team has enjoyed its best year to date, scoring 52 wins at 13.7%, while earning over $1.3 million in prize money for its connections.
While Weeding was pleased with the results, he was looking forward to season 2025/26.
“We look forward and not backward, and while it has been a really good season, I expect that we’ll have an even bigger season ahead of us.”
