After the success of the Pucka Cup in 2024, the meet took its place in a new marquee weekend slot, with plenty of Australian Defence Force personnel trackside and the Light Horse Brigade in attendance, as the military history of the region was fittingly celebrated on a weekend that also commemorated Anzac Day.
The on-track action was nothing short of brilliant either, with Rushford, trained by Andrew Dale and ridden by former Caulfield Cup-winning jockey Cory Parish, producing a stunning run to take out the cup by four lengths.
A $9 chance, Rushford missed the jump but was eased through the pack by Parish, moving up from dead last to settle on the rail in sixth place with 600m to go.
Despite looking boxed in on the fence as the field turned for home, Parish found a gap, steering Rushford through to end up four-wide as they entered the straight, and with space in front, the nine-year-old gelding breezed into the lead, gapping the rest of the pack to take a comfortable win.
In other races, the day started off well for the locals, with Lee and Shannon Hope recording a winner with Candy High in race one, finishing strongly to claim victory by a length.
Caleana delivered a win for Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr in race two, as did You’re Two Vain for Alicia MacPherson in race three, storming to a five-length triumph, while Okesutura held on to win by a head for trainer Nick Ryan in race four.
Amy and Ash Yargi-trained Cobblestone Way won a tight one in race five, prevailing by a head, while Vegas On Fire left its run even tighter than that, officially pipping Artistic Dancer by 0.02 lengths to give Shawn Mathrick a winner in race six.
It was a much more comfortable win for Read My Lips, trained by Grant White, in race seven, passing the post with a two-length lead, while Real Alliance concluded the meet with another nail-biting finish, giving trainer Luke Oliver the win in race nine by a nose.
Racing returns to Seymour in just under a month, with Tuesday racing on May 27 the next scheduled meeting.
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