A SPIRITED run from Present Sense has seen the Tamworth trained seven-year-old take out the 2019 Bingara Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Battling it out with eventual second placegetter Malzoom, the Craig Martin trained bay gelding found another gear to claim its 32nd career victory.
Martin said the efforts of jockey Grace Willoughby were crucial to the horse's victory.
"Grace has ridden him a few times and understands what he is capable of and what he needs to get going," Martin said.
"He was challenged by Malzoom coming into the straight and she gave him a nudge along at the right time, because I'm not sure he would have caught Malzoom had it got in front of him.
"Bingara can be a bit of a tricky track but he is a good little bush horse and showed that on Saturday."
Read Also:
Saturday's cup victory was Present Sense's first cup victory to go along with several cup placings in recent months.
"He can be a bit hard to place," Martin said.
"He prefers the soft tracks but with how dry it is they are hard to find.
"Along with that, he often gets added weight to carry as well, so coupling those two factors together makes it hard for him to find a race."
Martin said the bay gelding would "need a spell" after Saturday's victory.
"He has pulled up a bit sore from how hard the track was," he said.
"It's one of those things, there's not much you can do about it.
"We will give him a bit of a rest and a freshen up before deciding where to next for him.
"His next run could potentially be a mid-week city run but we will wait and see how he freshens up."