ULTRA-consistent Emotional Outburst chases back-to-back Cup wins when he runs in tomorrow’s $40,000 Riverside Caravan Park Coonamble Cup (1600m).
The seven-year-old gelding son of Johannesburg won the 1400m Barraba Cup in brilliant fashion by eight lengths last time out and drops four kilograms for that win given Moonbi apprentice Melissa Brown’s 2kg claim.
In his last eight starts since finishing second to Studio Star over 1200m at Quirindi in November, he has finished out of a place just once for Tamworth trainer Mark Mason – and that was a fourth to Ollie Vollie in the 1000m Moree Town Plate.
“He’s now getting up to a distance he likes,” Mason said.
“He has won over 2000m at Rosehill so he’s getting to his best distance here (1600m).”
Emotional Outburst has won four of his 20 starts and been placed another eight times in his lightly-raced career.
Winning the Barraba Cup, Mason’s home town Cup, was a delight for the trainer.
Winning the Coonamble Cup would be a first too.
“I’ve not had many starters out there,” he said.
“I took Prince Humam out there once and old Mr Shinjuku might have run in it one year too.
“He was runner-up in a Coonabarabran Cup one year so he might have started in the Coonamble Cup.”
Coonabarabran is where Emotional Outburst might be headed too.
“We’ll see how he goes at Coonamble first but I suppose the Coonabarabran Cup would be ideal.
“Another mile and $40,000 and don’t have to go to far. Just a couple of hours.”
Emotional Outburst is in good nick too for tomorrow’s Cup.
“Everything seems all right with him,” Mason added.
“He’s bright enough in himself and his work has been good.”
Drawing barrier nine is also okay.
“I would have loved to have been closer but that’s okay,” Mason said.
The rest is up to Brown.
She rode him perfectly at Barraba but both horse and jockey are up in class tomorrow at a track where the long 400m run in allows all runners the chance to balance up and finish.
“It’s a good run down the back too out of the 1600m chute. There’s plenty of time to muck it up or get it right,” Mason said.
While Emotional Outburst jumps from barrier nine, race favourite Clever Hans, also ultra-consistent, has drawn well in two for his Tamworth trainer Leon Davies.
The six-year-old gelding, winner of seven from 39, has finished out of a place once in his last six starts and that was a fourth at Eagle Farm.
He is also a BOBS Extra horse, which means he is gunning for an extra $10,000 to go with the $23,000-plus winner’s cheque.
Davies is also chasing a third straight Coonamble Cup after winning the 2010 Cup with Prussian Secret and last year’s edition with Altonio.