Scallopini lands second Sunshine Coast Cup

By Glenn Davis

The training partnership of Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted rounded out the summer on a successful note when Scallopini claimed his second Sunshine Coast Cup on Saturday.

Ridden by Boris Thornton, the seven-year-old overcame a wide draw to down the Chris Waller-trained Oscar Zulu in the 1400-metrre Listed feature.

It was an extra thrill for Thornton, whose career had been plagued by weight problems, as he managed to beat his sister Stephanie aboard runner-up Oscar Zulu.

Desert Lord continued his remarkable feat of missing a place only once in 10 Queensland starts since transferring from Sydney, finishing third, a further one-and-a-half lengths away.

“It’s great to see him back in the winner’s stall as it’s been a while for him,” O’Dea said.

“He won this race two years ago and his first run back next preparation he won the (Listed) Hinkler and he’s been winless since.

“But a lot of times he drew bad gates and didn’t have a lot of things go well for him.

“Even though he drew a bad gate, I wasn’t worried too much and he was able to get over without too much problem.

“He was on the right part of the track when he came down the crown of the track and it was good to see him tough it out.”

O’Dea said Scallopini has paid for his good form with a rapid rise in ratings but he managed to get in well at the weights.

“Usually in Listed races he’s high up in the weights but with Tyzone and The Harrovian in the race it compressed the weights a bit,” he said.

“He got into this with only two kilos more than what he carried when he won it two years ago.”

Meanwhile, Weona Smartone’s bubble burst when the five-year-old finished out of the placings in the Open Handicap over 1000 metres.

The David Vandyke-trained gelding started favourite at $2.80 in his bid for nine successive wins, but tired over the final stages after leading to finish fifth, three-and-a-half lengths behind Niedorp.

Tony Gollan’s Niedorp sat back in the field as was the trend of the day before storming home to edge out Je Suis Belle by a nose.

Group 1 placegetter Startantes ran a great trial for the Group 2 Surround Stakes at Randwick on February 26 to finish third, only half-a-length away.

Niedorp’s win was her first since she claimed the Listed Tatt’s Classic at Doomben in November, 2020.

“She doesn’t really like rain-affected tracks and I was a bit worried this track wasn’t drying out fast enough,” Gollan said.

“She’s got a good record but it probably should be better and she’ll go the broodmare barn at the end of the spring.”