Can Cepheus score South Cup hat trick?
By Tim Howard
Two-time South Grafton Cup winner Cepheus could make it a hat trick next year says part owner and former local Maree Anderson.
The South Grafton girl, who was Maree Gorrie when she left her home town for the Gold Coast about 30 years ago, said there was no reason why the seven-year-old who is trained by Matthew Dunn at Murwillumbah, couldn’t make it three in a row.
“He’s just getting better and better at this distance,” Andersons said after Sunday’s momentous win.
Among the its syndicate of owners Anderson has established a bond with the horse.
“Not many of the owners go to his races,” she said. “I’m the only one of them who was here last year or this year.
“But I also go to visit him, because he’s close at Matt’s stables at Murwillumbah so I can see how he’s progressing.”
Through a rain-soaked 2024 Anderson was beginning to despair of his chances of repeating his stellar efforts of the previous year, where he was installed as favourite for the $3 million Big Dance.
“He’s a horse that likes the firmer tracks,” she said. “Because of the state of the tracks through the first half of the year, where it’s been really heavy, he’s done it tough.
“He’s had the heavy tracks and race meetings have been abandoned. It’s been a really disrupted campaign for him.”
She said it had only been in the lead up races to the South Cup that she though he’d turned the corner.
“He ran fourth in the Tattersalls Mile in June with Blake Shinn riding him.
“That’s the first time I felt confident about him coming here.”
But Anderson’s interest in the 2024 July Carnival is not over as she has interest in this years $75,000 Sir James Kirby Quality 1000m, race eight on Thursday.
The Terry Gollan-trained Osamu has entered and Anderson said she liked its chances.
“We’ve had a bit of a campaign on for the Kirby,” she said. “He’s a good horse and I think this race might suit him.”
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