GLEN Innes trainer Paddy Cunningham is hoping to be calling the tune for the second time in eight days when he saddles up Aimalac Burra in tomorrow’s $15,000 Country Music Cup (1000m) at Tamworth .
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Cunningham enjoyed a happy homecoming last Saturday, with Miss Caitlyn taking out the Glen Innes Cup (1400m).
“Everything’s going well,” Cunningham said.
Aimalac Burra is the $3.00 favorite and coming off a fifth in the Inverell Shorts on New Years Day.
“He was a little bit disappointing at Inverell,” Cunningham said.
“But he did sweat up badly when he got over there, which he usually doesn’t do.”
His form had been pretty good.
“His last run in Brisbane he only just got beaten,” Cunningham said. “He didn’t find the line quite as well as he should have.”
He hasn’t looked to change too much though.
It’s just been about keeping him nice and fresh.
“He’s worked along nicely since Inverell,” he said.
The five-year-old will be Cunningham’s first starter in the Country Music Cup.
“He’s pretty high up in the ratings,” he said.
Subsequently it can be hard to find races for him.
Hence he’s been doing a lot of racing in Queensland.
Cunningham said he likes to race forward and will be looking for him to settle in the first few somewhere.
Jodi Worley will take the ride on him and is in red-hot form at the moment.
After piloting Miss Caitlyn to her win, she backed up to win Tuesday’s Somerton Cup on Kingston Time.
Today she’ll ride Tax Exemption for Luke Berger in the $11,000 Deepwater Cup (1400m) then Aimalac Burra tomorrow.
“She’s on fire,” Cunningham said.
She has only been an apprentice for about 18 months and is riding as well as he’s seen her.
Cunningham also has Natural Warrior engaged at Deepwater today.
He’ll start in the Elders Glen Innes Maiden Handicap (1100m).
“He hasn’t shown a lot at this stage,” Cunningham said. “We’ll just see what happens.”
Hawkesbury trainer Connie Greig has two of the top fancies in the Country Music Cup – Reigns Above ($3.50) and seven-year-old mare Magical Lady ($4.20).
Reigns Above, a nine-year-old gelding, won the 900m Queanbeyan Thunderbolt three starts back and is coming off a half length second to Shadow Force in the Gilgandra Town Plate (1000m).
Seven-year-old Magical Lady has had one run back from a spell, a 2.2len sixth to Felines at Warwick Farm on January 7.
Reigns Above has drawn well in barrier six and has apprentice Martin Haley claiming two kilograms off the gelding’s 61kg topweight while Magical Lady has drawn 12 and will be ridden by Kody Nestor.
Cessnock trainer Jeremy Sylvester also has Mornington Handicap winner Collar running.
The gelding won the 2100m Mornington at last year’s Tamworth Cup meeting and the gelding, who also won the Gunnedah Cup at his next start, resumes tomorrow from barrier three with Robert Thompson aboard.
Stablemate Buckmoore has drawn barrier nine with Alison Threadwell to ride.
o Tamworth fields and form page 115