A COUNTRY cups campaign is likely for Bendigo galloper Penny to Sell following her long-odds win at Bendigo Jockey Club on Wednesday.
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The Mick Sell-trained seven-year-old mare produced a boilover to win a 1300m benchmark 70 handicap at the amazing odds of 150-1.
All seven of the middle distance performer’s previous wins had come beyond the 1300m distance.
Sell, who transferred his stable to Bendigo from Kyneton in July, admitted some reservations in the mare’s return from a 17-week spell.
“I am not going to say yes because we were just using her for a run, but we’ll take it,” he said.
“She’s got older, but she did trial well here (at Bendigo) – she won her trial a week and a half ago.
“She’s definitely going well, but obviously she races better over 2000 (metres). It was a good ride.
“We’ll try and set her up for a few country cups and go from there.”
Penny to Sell performed consistently in a group of country cups last season.
She followed a 2000m win at Ballarat with success in the Gunbower Cup (1800m) last October.
Next-up she was second in the Avoca Cup (1860m) behind Brigadier, before a handy fifth in a quality Kyneton Cup (2000m) field in November.
Despite the mare’s tendency to run well fresh, jockey Harry Grace, who replaced a sick Jessie Philpot on Penny to Sell, admitted some concern pre-race with the distance.
“We just bounced forward and gave here the best sort of run we could,” he said.
“She travelled a treat for me and toughed it out to the line.
“I was actually a little surprised she was paying that much – I went through her form and she had a pretty good prep last prep.
“I know she was over 1600m most of those runs, but it was a tough effort.”
I was actually a little surprised she was paying that much.
- Jockey Harry Grace
The win delivered Sell his sixth win for the 2018-19 season, with six individual horses.
There’s little time to reflect on the win, with Sell headed to Cranbourne on Friday, Morphettville on Saturday and Kyneton on Tuesday.
The trip to Adelaide with Carlingford and River Lee will be the first since both ran placings at the venue on September 22.
Sell insisted both were in good order and would run ‘good, honest races’.
Carlingford ($34) will start as one of the outsiders in a strong Durbridge Stakes field headed by the unbeaten Archie Alexander-trained mare Petrelle and Darren Weir’s dual Group 1-winner Lucky Hussler.
The Listed race carries prizemoney of $100,000, with the consistent Carlingford chasing a sixth career win in his 27th start.
