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Record required for Cantbuybetter to win Cup

6 July 2018

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By Glenn Davis

Trainer Ben Currie believes topweight Cantbuybetter can produce a weight carrying record to claim his first Rockhampton Cup at Callaghan Park on Saturday.

Cantbuybetter received topweight of 60.5kgs for the 1600-metre feature and will eclipse the previous metric record held by the Rex Lipp-trained Gene’s Interest if successful.

Gene’s Interest was a noted Country Cups galloper who lumped 59.5kgs to victory in 1998 when the race was run over 2000 metres.

Currie had also nominated Honey Toast for the Rockhampton Cup but has preferred to run him in a Benchmark race at Doomben.

Currie believes Cantbuybetter, a Brad Pengelly mount, is weighted to win and expects the six-year-old to be right in the Cup finish.

A winner of nine of his 33 starts, Cantbuybetter is coming off a last start fourth to the Team Snowden-trained Grande Rosso in the Listed Humm Stakes at Doomben last month.

“I think he’s in good at the weights,” Currie said.

“He’s the class horse in the race and he’s won three Listed races.

“This is a bit of a drop back in grade for him as well.”

Toowoomba-based Currie has sent a team of 13 horses for the Rockhampton carnival.

“I’ve only been going to Rockhampton for the last two or three years and I’ve never won the Cup,” he said.

“This is the most runners I’ve sent up there. It’s a great carnival and the club does a super job that’s why so many trainers from the south-east support the carnival.

“I think the form around Cantbuybetter is very good and he’s spot on for the race.”

Cantbuybetter beat only one home behind Hopfgarten on a heavy track in his previous start in the Listed Wayne Wilson at Doomben on June 9.

“He needed the run that day as it was three weeks between runs and the heavy track and bad gate didn’t help,” he said.

“He’s going into the Cup at his fourth run in so he’ll be right at his top.”