SUNDAY’S $150,000 Mercure Tamworth Cup has enticed a full field of 14 who have won almost 100 races and more than $4million in prizemoney between them.
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Topping the list is the Zach Hatch-trained Mighty Like, an eight-year-old gelding formerly trained by Mick Price in Melbourne.
Mighty Like has won 11 races for $471,990 in prizemoney and won five times over the Tamworth Cup 1400m distance.
Altogether the 14 runners have won 95 times for $4,077,865 with Eagle Farm-trained Cornrow winning four times for $441,260, Newcastle gelding Got Unders winning seven times for $426,665 and the Shane Edmonds-trained Inverell gelding Mishani Honcho successful seven times for $402,605.
Edmonds said the Tamworth Cup has been an aim for Mishani Honcho.
“I’ve had him set for this race all along,” Edmonds said.
“This is the race I’ve had in mind for him. They all said he wouldn’t run the 1400 but he has.”
Mishani Honcho won a 1400m open handicap at the Sunshine Coast last time out and has “drawn a gate” on Sunday.
“Drawn three, that’s a nice alley for him,” Edmonds said.
“Can sit just off the pace a little bit and ride him for a bit of luck.”
Matthew Paget will ride him Sunday. He has ridden Mishani Honcho three times for two wins and a second.
While the gelding has won seven times, three of them have been for Edmonds.
Mighty Like and Mishani Honcho aren’t the only “local” horses in the cup either.
There are five Hunter and North West Racing Association-trained horses in the final field. Scone’s Rod Northam has After All That, Craig Martin has Bullet Kid and Melanie O’Gorman has Suncraze.
Suncraze started favourite in the recent Country Championship Final at Randwick before finishing seventh and half lengths astern of winner Victorem. The four-year-old has drawn wide in 13 with Mitchell Bell to ride.