Cassini Defends Wanganui Cup Title

In foal mare Cassini produced a stylish performance to successfully defend her $50,000 Listed Cambridge Thoroughbred Lodge Wanganui Cup (2040m) title at Wanganui on Saturday.

Trained by Mark Oulaghan, Cassini (Reset x Mathematical) isn’t too far off retirement, being in foal to Towkay, but continues to improve her residual value with another well-earned black type success.

Saturday’s race saw the seven-year-old mare positioned well back in the field on the rail from her ace draw under jockey Johnathon Parkes.  Steadily making ground from the 600 metre mark, it took Cassini the length of the straight to reel in northern raider Better Together (Volksraad) to eventually win by half a length with Ascolini (Bertolini) back in third.

Cassini now looks poised to follow a similar program to last year’s successful raid on the Group 3 Manawatu Cup (2300m). A trip to Wellington for the Trentham Stakes may also be on the cards before she retires to stud.

Now a winner of six of her 45 starts and $230,000 in stakes, Saturday’s win was her third at stakes level after winning the Wanganui and Manawatu Cup’s last year.  Bred by Doug Dean, Cassini was purchased by her Taranaki owner Gail Drought from Lyndhurst Farm at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2007 Karaka Premier Sale for $120,000.

The meeting marked a successful day for Karaka graduates with Matamata based trainer Jason Bridgman celebrating a treble of winners that were all sourced from the National Yearling Sales Series by Te Akau Principal David Ellis.