Above: Corrupted, ridden to victory in the Fosters Healesville Cup by Matthew Gillies, got his nose in front at the 600-metre mark and kept it there ahead of nearest rival, Ululate. NEW Zealand-bred eight-year old Corrupted came in strongly from the 600-metre mark at Healesville races on Saturday to win the Fosters Australia Healesville Cup.
Accepting the cup trophy on behalf of New Zealand owner T. G. Sargent and Mornington trainer Chris Wood, Graeme Hare and the jockey he described as the “whizz kid of the track”, Matthew Gillies, were clearly thrilled with the win.
For Gillies it was a good win after two second placings earlier in the day.
He paid tribute to Corrupted, who he said responded beautifully to his push with 600 metres to go.
“I set him at the back of the field and about the 600 mark came around three wide,” Gillies said.
“He made the move and just kept being too good for them down the straight.”
The cup was the main race of the traditional Easter meeting and the last of the 2005-06 season for the club.
Although numbers were down after a night of almost constant rain, the meeting attracted a good crowd and topped off what Healesville Amateur Racing Club (HARC) secretary Michelle Purvis said was a brilliantly successful year – and a great relief after the previous year’s run of cancelled meetings.
“We’ve had a great year with big crowds and, considering the weather, we’re very happy with the turn-up we have here today,” she said.
Purvis said trainers were also supporting the club again after some disappointments first year.
“I think they are getting more confident because we are racing again,” she said.
“After last year there was a feeling that perhaps they had lost confidence a bit, but that has picked up again and we are looking forward to starting another season in November.”
