Successful in the Bairnsdale Cup (1600m) two starts back before a ninth last time out in the G3 MRC Easter Cup, Ciaron Maher’s 5yo Territories (IRE) gelding Kings Valley (IRE) secured a run in Saturday’s $300,000 Listed MRC Mornington Cup (2400m) as the first emergency, proving too strong in the run to the line to record his first black type win.
Starting on the third line of betting behind Easter Cup winner Ambassadorial, Kings Valley settled in the middle of the pack as a host of runners charged from the gates trying to secure a position as the grey Sea What I See (IRE) eventually found the lead after passing the winning post three wide on the first occasion.
At the half-way mark, not much had changed in the running, with Sea What I See leading at a solid tempo as Kings Valley under Lachlan Neindorf had drifted a little further back with just four behind him.
With 700m to run, last start G2 SAJC Adelaide Cup (3200m) winner American Wolf (NZ) charged from the tail of the field to be the widest as the field headed into the home straight with race favourite Ambassadorial going back and looking unlikely to make a challenge.
With most of the action happening out wide as the runs were starting to come, Neindorf darted back towards the inside, getting up between Pounding who had taken a rails run, and the grey mare Sea What I See who was battling away in the lead.
As Pounding and Kings Valley pulled away to fight it out, the Maher trained gelding got his head in front on the line, defeating the Moody/Coleman trained Pounding by a narrow margin.
Working home well to nab Sea What I See for third, the Nick Ryan trained Suntora produced a strong effort late to get his head in front of Danny O’Brien’s mare.
Ciaron Maher’s stable rep Jack Turnbull was on course to discuss the winning performance.
“It was a great effort by horse and rider,” Turnbull said. “We’ve been trying to get the horse to 2400 metres, but he’s been a fierce horse to train and to race.
“In the race, I was a little worried and concerned about how he was going about it as you could see Lachie taking a few holds throughout which made me a bit nervous.
“Credit to the horse as I think he’s going to go to another level over this trip because he’s not slow and has a good change-up speed as we saw today.
Having won the race three years back with Right You Are, who went on to finish fifth in the Caulfield Cup, Maher’s runner was purchased by his ownership group to chase Cup success.
“We were always wanting to get to this stage. They (owners) bought him as a future cups horse and now they’ll get their chance.”
Ridden by former Champion South Australian apprentice Lachie Neindorf, the win meant quite a bit.
“I know it is going to sound outrageous, but it probably means more to me winning one of these than it does any of my group 1s,” said Neindorf.
“It’s just for the simple fact when I first came over here as an apprentice I lived in Mornington and I went back and built myself from the ground back up and felt like I was trying to rebuild a skyscraper and then came back and had another go over here and based myself here again and this is more so home for me than Adelaide.
“It almost makes me a bit emotional, but it means a lot to me.”
Securing a ballot free exemption of the G1 MRC Caulfield Cup (2400m), Kings Valley took his overall record to six wins and ten placed efforts from 24 starts with earnings of $559,094.
Bred by Southcourt Stud, Kings Valley is one of five winners from five to the races out of the Dansili mare Crystal Etoile, whose five winners including four stakes performers.
Surprisingly a half-brother to fellow Mornington Cup winner Crystal Pegasus (Australia) who was trained in Australia by Chris Waller, Kings Valley’s dam is a half-sister to G1 winners Crystal Ocean (Sea The Stars) and Hillstar (Danehill Dancer).
One of 23 stakes winners for Invincible Spirit’s former shuttle stallion Territories who stood at Darely Kelvinside for five season, his best locally bred runner is the G2 winner Berkeley Square, a winner of more than $2m for connections.
