Photo: Tayler Strong
Four weeks on from a brave second in the Gore Cup (2000m), lion-hearted stayer Loftys Gift (Ghibellines) delivered again for her connections at Wingatui on Saturday and went one better in the Listed Positive Signs + Print Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m).
The gritty daughter of Ghibellines was a winner over 1400m at Ascot Park in late January, then stepped up to 2000m for the Gore Cup and was beaten by only half a length despite being caught three wide without cover for the second half of the race.
The step up to 2400m on Saturday was ideal for Loftys Gift, who had won four times from 10 previous attempts over distances ranging from 2200m to 2400m. But despite her form and stamina credentials, the six-year-old jumped as a $16 outsider among an even line-up for Saturday’s $170,000 staying feature.
Loftys Gift began to look like even more of a longshot in the early part of the race, finding herself caught three wide again as the field turned out of the home straight.
But when the pace began to come out of the race, jockey Samantha Wynne took the initiative and let Loftys Gift roll forward. She slid up into second behind the front-running Taimate Diva, then quickened again to take a clear lead before the home turn.
Rival jockeys might have expected those efforts to take a toll on Loftys Gift in the home straight, but they never did. She pinned her ears back and kept finding, staying out of reach for the late-finishing Smooth Operator and winning by a length and three-quarters.
“We were three wide, but we did have cover,” Wynne said. “When they put the brakes on, I took it on myself to go up and sit outside the leader so we’d be in with a chance.
“This mare was prepared spot-on for this race today, and her performance has showed that she’s a true stayer.
“I was very confident coming into the straight. She was still finding and seemed to be enjoying her work. She stayed every bit of the trip today and felt like she would have gone even further.”
Loftys Gift has now had 32 starts for eight wins and five placings, earning $233,590 for owners Markwood Lodge and the Knot Enough Syndicate.
Loftys Gift was bred in Otago by White Robe Lodge’s Anderton family, but began her career in the North Island with two wins for Cambridge trainers Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray. She is now back in the island of her birth and racing in career-best form for Ascot Park trainer Robert Dennis.
“When I was watching the race, I wasn’t sure the mid-race move was the right thing to do,” Dennis admitted. “But she was too tough and she’s a serious stayer. She’s proved that today.
“We were pretty confident coming into this race. We couldn’t understand why she was so long in the market. She was very good in both of those last two starts, and she proved last season that she’s a high-quality stayer. She’s done it again today.”
Loftys Gift now has 8 points in the Southern Cups Bonus Series, which comprises the Gore Cup, Invercargill Cup (2600m), Dunedin Gold Cup, Wyndham Cup (2000m) and next month’s Riverton Cup (2147m). The series carries a $50,000 winner-take-all bonus for the connections of the horse with the most points at the conclusion of the series.
“That’s a great series, but a Listed win and $170,000 race today is pretty bloody good in its own right,” Dennis said. “We’ll enjoy this win for now, see how the mare comes through the race and then make a plan.
“There’s some great owners in this horse. The Matijasevich family at Markwood Lodge race horses all around the country with a lot of different trainers and deserve every success they get, and they race this horse alongside a fantastic syndicate.”
