EGLINTON trainer Nathan Hurst went into Friday night’s Golden Guitar meeting at Tamworth optimistic about his chances of success in the two major races of the night but in the end, the best he would manage was second in the $10,000 Tamworth City Cup with Em Eff Cee.
His luck was worse in the $20,000
Golden Guitar Final, where poor barrier draws saw both his runners drop to the tail
of the field early and that was where they stayed.
Getaloadathis and Make Some Magic finished ninth and 10th. Bernie Hewitt fared slightly better, taking fifth with A Passion For Aces.
The $3.70 second favourite A Passion For Aces was also back at the tail early after starting from barrier six but midway through the race both Getaloadathis, with Angela Hedges in the gig, and Hewitt’s gelding looked to make their move.
Getaloadathis soon dropped back again but A Passion For Aces looked like his run had been timed to perfection. He got close to the front just as they hit the final bend but was hurt by having to run so wide and finished fifth, 8.4 metres behind winner Tiger Island, who started as a $54.70 chance.
He rated 2:00.3 as he beat home Artstandin ($7.30) and Churchill Bromac ($3.10 favourite).
Tiger Island’s Queensland trainer Ricky Thurlow was delighted with the win.
“The little horse went terrific, I had some luck in running but credit goes to the horse because he finished gamely in the straight.” Thurlow said..
The win was even more impressive given that the eight-year-old was only a late inclusion for the trip South.
“I was keen to take a few away with me and I didn’t really factor in this horse but at the last moment I decided to take him, he performed very well while the others were only steady,” the trainer said.
“Everyone loves Tiger. Sharon [Thurlow’s wife] and my boys [Cameron and Benjamin] got a massive thrill watching him win.
“That was my first time to Tamworth for this carnival and it worked out great.”
Em Eff Cee started as $4.30 favourite for the 2360 metre Tamworth City Cup but things didn’t quite go Hurst’s way.
He made a move to take the lead from barrier four but he was blocked by strong starts from The Twin Rivers ($5.20) and BG Three ($34), who started on the inside of the Bathurst entry.
The Twin Rivers led into the first corner and Hurst decided to take Em Eff Cee forward to sit outside the leader as they ran along the back straight.
After dropping back in the field during the middle stages of the race, Hurst again brought Em Eff Cee to the fore for a duel with The Twin Rivers into the final turn.
They led the rest of the field by two lengths and while Turpin’s gelding had done plenty of work, he was still able to sprint away from Hurst and win by 11 metres.
Em Eff Cee took second with a further 2.5 metre gap back to Kardelin ($6.20).
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