GOULBURN twins Emma and Lucy Longmire enjoyed their first ‘major’ Cup win together when Thunder Road outlasted his rivals in NSW’s longest race on Tuesday.
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Thunder Road ($2.80) proved too good for his rivals in the $25,000 Budget Truck Hire 2017 Riverina Cup (3800m).
Thunder Road took out the Prelude at Wagga Wagga earlier this month and made it back-to back victories at Murrumbidgee Turf Club (MTC).
Thunder Road was aided by a brilliant ride from Nick Heywood, who bided his time before bringing the five-year-old home with a winning run. While others went early, Heywood timed his run perfectly on Thunder Road, who was strong at the finish, defeating Duke Of Staghurst ($15.00) by 2¼ lengths.
The Longmire twins have been training in partnership at Goulburn since April and were thrilled to take out the feature race on Tuesday.
“It’s fantastic, it’s our first major Cup that we’ve won,” Lucy said.
Thunder Road, a five-year old by Roadhog, won a Highway Handicap over 1400m at Randwick at just his fifth race start.
This preparation the Longmires decided to try Thunder Road over a staying trip, a move that has paid dividends.
“We only decided on that since his last Highway,” Lucy said. “We decided on a change of path because he couldn’t keep up with them early, he’s got no early speed.
“We’re hoping this is a stepping stone to something bigger for this horse.”
They hope that something bigger is the $300,000 Jericho Cup at Warrnambool in November next year.
A one-off Benchmark 90 race over 4600m, it will be run to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a race run in Palestine involving Australian and New Zealand troops during World War I.
The race is only open for horses bred in Australia and NZ, and the field will be determined through a series of qualifying races over 3000m or longer throughout Australia.
The Riverina Cup is the qualifying race in NSW and carried double points.
The Longmire twins hope to travel the country in a bid to qualify Thunder Road for the Jericho Cup. “There’s a couple of qualifying races in Melbourne, one in Adelaide.
It’s exciting, it’s a wonderful opportunity,” Emma said. “He’s super honest and tough. “It’s so exciting.” The Longmires praised Heywood for his ride. He was replaced the sick Nick Souquet.
Unfortunately for Wagga Wagga trainer Trevor Sutherland and connections, $2.35 favourite Sir Ottavio broke down during the run.
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