GREG Norman gave the locals plenty to cheer about it on Charlton Cup day.
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The former South Australian trainer, who is in his third stint in Victoria and has called Charlton home since mid-2019, claimed the training honours on Sunday with a winning double courtesy of Cee Cee In America and Fiftyshadesofhay.
Norman was unlucky not to make it a treble, with his emerging pacer Apieceoflou beaten into second place by the smart Brooke Wilkins-trained filly Celestialfragrance in the Cup Day Fanatics Three-Year-Old Classic.
A busy, but productive day included an eighth in the $35,000 Group 3 Charlton Pacing Cup with Zadaka, while his trotters cup hope Blue Coman was scratched.
Norman, who has notched up four winners from his last seven starters, including back-to-back victories with Fiftyshadesofhay, was rapt with his cup day return.
"Two wins and a second you'll take any time, and Zadaka did well too, it was a tough field," he said.
"We were hoping for a good day, a couple of them (Cee Cee In America and Fiftyshadesofhay) were short prices, so it was good to see them get the job done.
"Fiftyshadesofhay can be a bit naughty, but I think we are winning the battle.
"She was good at Birchip (the previous week) and she was good at Charlton, that's two wins in a row."
The two wins aside, Norman continues to be impressed by Apieceoflou, who has won three of six starts since his arrival from New Zealand in December and found just the one horse better on Sunday.
"She came home very hard and ran a quick last half. I was very happy with his run," he said.
"Another win shouldn't be too far off."
A double for Norman contributed to three wins all up for the Charlton training ranks, with the town's newest trainer Shane Sanderson being the first to strike early in the day with Kilderry.
Norman couldn't have been happier to see his new neighbours experience quick success.
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Cee Cee In America will head to Melton this Saturday, while a $20,000 three-year-old race in a fortnight's time at Melton and a potential tilt at the South Australian Derby lie ahead for Apieceoflou.
Champion horsewoman Kerryn Manning, who drove all four of Norman's horses on Sunday, predicted a bright future for Fiftyshadesofhay and declared Cee Cee In America's win as 'fairly comfortable'.
"When he drew well, I thought he should be able to lead and then he had a very nice run after that and sprinted home pretty quickly," she said.
"He's a classy horse. He never really runs a bad race, but he's in that class now where it is difficult to win all the time.
"(Sunday) was a little bit of a drop back for him from the Melton form and he relished that.
"(Fiftyshadesofhay) was too good for them, she was actually pretty quiet (on Sunday) and I was worried it might be a bit too quiet for her.
"She got away well, settled well and certainly went around like the best horse in the race.
"She was under pressure on the turn and she hung a little bit, but once she straightened she kicked on and won well.
"Greg's team is going well - he's a good trainer and certainly has nice horses in his stable and most of them are in good form at the minute.
"He's very easy to drive for, he leaves it up to you a little bit to work it out and the Cormacks are great people too."
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