Imported galloper Finn McCool gave apprentice jockey Trent Germaine the biggest victory in his short career, winning the $25,000 Penshurst Cup on Wednesday.
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Finn McCool, trained by Dane Smith, defeated Instrumentalist by a nose, with Aurora Miss back in third place in the 2000-metre race.
The Penshurst Cup win is the second cup Finn McCool has won for Smith in seven starts for the Stawell-based trainer.
His other win was in the Avoca Cup.
“Finn McCool just seems to appreciate the change in training environment,” he said.
“We’ve got a stabling complex at Lake Fyans and he’s thrived since we’ve taken him there. He’s done a lot of his work in the deep sand. It’s an ideal training complex as it’s at the foot of the Grampians.
“I’m not sure where we’ll run him next, it maybe in the Burrumbeet Cup or the Great Western Cup.
We’ll just wait to see how he pulls up after this run.”
Germaine said he was unsure if he had won the feature race on the seven-race program.
“I just got the bob in on the line,” he said.
“I always felt I could get to Instrumentalist but it seemed to take longer than I thought it would. It’s great to win a country cup. I’ve got to rate the win as my biggest race victory.”
Jackie Beriman had a training-riding double.
Beriman, who has a dual licence was successful with Davidboom and River Saint, while Melissa Julius rode two winners. She won on Yulong May and Spring Action.
The two wins took Julius winning tally to 99 since she commenced her riding career at Penshurst in 2015.
He’s done a lot of his work in the deep sand. It’s an ideal training complex as it’s at the foot of the Grampians.
- Dane Smith