By Isaac Murphy
The Scott kennel took a few short hours to savour their feat of having half the field for this week’s Group 2 Ipswich Gold Cup Final before it was back to work.
As significant an achievement it was to see Farmor Watch Me, Farmor Beach, Fernando Beach and Mayoress win their heats they came to win the Final and Wayne Scott said it would take another magical night to reward the whole team.
“All of our dogs who’ve got through have tonnes of ability but so do the other four runners (Flying Jet, Magical Hope, Hara’s Panda, Magical Bill) as much as you hope class will be a factor we’re going to need a lot of luck in the run to the first corner, there’s not much between any of them,” Scott said.
“I’m incredibly proud of the whole team, four runners in a Group 2 final doesn’t just happen it’s the product of hard work from everyone who helps us out.
“There’s only one name that goes up in the form guide, but we’ve got two hundred dogs at our place that need to be taken care of and there are plenty more that deserve a mention, I hope we can finish the job and put a smile on everyone’s faces.”
The kennel’s marquee runner, Group 3 Vince Curry winner Farmor Beach, will run favourite from box three having won seven of his last eight starts, Scott with high praise for the young star.
“Two out of his last three races he’s done it the hard way missing the start and finding his way through the field, it’s been really pleasing to see him win that way with most of his victories coming a lot softer,” Scott said.
“I reckon we’ve probably only had one other dog who’s chased as hard as he does which was Farmor Las Vegas who Robbie Britton trained for us, he was a super dog and we’ve seen a lot since but there are definitely similarities.
“We were a little concerned when he came back from Victoria earlier in the year having gone through the virus and I think the travel at such a young age affected him, he wasn’t the same when he first came back and it took us a few months to bring him out of his shell but he’s right at home now.”
Farmor Watch Me got the party started the first through last week in dominant fashion, a few tweaks in his preparation having him spot on, though he gets no favours with box six.
“We were expecting a bit out of him from the draw, he’d been leading over the six hundred metres and we thought he might be able to jump to the front, the only thing I was disappointed about was the fact I forgot to back him,” Scott said.
“He’s had some really good victories where he’s shown some field sense around Albion Park in the last couple of months, he knows how to win, this is a big ask though.
“If he jumps like last week and leads, you’d be hard pressed to say he wouldn’t win, he’s a strong five hundred metre dog, but he has to ping from the six.”
Fernando Beach rugs up closest to the rail in he checks a draw the early speed dog desperately needs to match it with the stronger types late.
“Fernando Beach won his heat at the start last week; he was able to put a few lengths on them and despite getting a bit tired late he’d done the hard work,” Scott said.
“To be a realistic chance in the final we probably needed to draw close to the fence again and he’s come up with the two where he can hopefully cross Flying Jet who’s quick himself and give them a sight.
“Class wise we probably didn’t expect him to make an Ipswich Cup Final, but he’s an honest dog who’s had a few things go his way, he’s a chance.”
Mayoress only started her racing career in June and is still well and truly in her infancy, but an eight-length romp in her heat put her right in the frame, a favourable box draw to boot.
“I’ve got a lot of time for Mayoress from box eight in the final, she comes in off a brilliant heat win confidence through the roof and if there’s trouble at the first corner she has the speed to whip right around the outside of them,” Scott said.
“Her speed is her best asset but she’s getting stronger week by week, a 30.31 heat win tells you that, she won’t pack it in at any stage.
“She’s probably been the over achiever of the four, she’s very early in her career and we probably didn’t expect her to be contesting these open races yet, but she’s shown she’s up to it.”