TALENTED reinsman Ryan Duffy is backing Serg Blanco to take another step up in the $75,000 Group 2 Bendigo Pacing Cup on Saturday night at Lord's Raceway.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The six-year-old gelding, trained by Ryan's father Steven in the Goulburn Valley, is drawn to race in a prominent position from the pole draw and should receive every chance in an open race.
The Duffys will be chasing their third country cup in two months with the son of Bettors Delight.
Serg Blanco broke through for his first country cup win at Swan Hill in early November and backed up six days later by winning the Yarra Valley Pacing Cup.
Codi Rauchenberger took the steer at Yarra Valley.
He has since been ultra-competitive in a pair of sprint events at Melton, with Ryan Duffy anticipating Serg Blanco will have a big say in Saturday night's outcome from barrier one.
"I don't know where we'll end up, but he should go pretty close," the 28-year-old said.
"We'll probably run the gate and weigh up our options from there I suppose.
"It will all be tempo-related. If he gets away with it, I wouldn't be scared to lead, but if there's a heap of pressure on, we might take a trail.
"It's just one of those things where we'll have to play it by ear."
Duffy said he was pleased with Serg Blanco's last start fourth behind Bendigo Pacing Cup aspirant Max Delight in the Sokyola Sprint at Melton.
Another cup contender in Beyond Delight, from the powerful Emma Stewart stable, was third in the race.
"We just got held up there on the corner, but he finished off really well - good sectionals," Duffy said.
"He's going well and I know dad will have him pretty much spot on.
"Dad and I have had a bit of success along the way, hopefully that can continue on Saturday."
Serg Blanco boasts a proud record in country cups.
In addition to his victories at Swan Hill and Yarra Valley, he finished second in last year's Cobram Pacing Cup and fifth in the Mildura Pacing Cup.
His six wins from 19 starts last season included a victory in the Del-Re National Italian Cup at Melton in June, in which he beat the likes of Max Delight, Torrid Saint, Tango Tara and Like A Wildfire.
Duffy said there was no shortage of strong chances in the race.
"(From inside the second row) Hurricane Harley on our backs is going to be a huge threat, Max Delight is flying and Beyond Delight is a big threat," he said.
"But you can't deny some of the other chances in the race - they are in there for a reason."
Duffy has drives in both features on Saturday night, partnering the Chris Angove-trained Ebonys Avenger in the $75,000 Group 1 Maori Mile.
A last start winner at Bendigo, she is the outsider of the field at $126 on the TAB fixed odds market.
Up against the likes of star trotting mare Queen Elida, 2022 Maori Mile winner Im Ready Jet and Arcee Phoenix, Duffy is hoping for an 'ultra-competitive' showing from Ebonys Avenger, who won her division of the Group 1 Breeders Crown as two-year-old, in 2021.
"She's probably been thrown in out of her depth a little bit to see where she measures up to those better ones, but she is going well," he said.
"She won last start and will be tucking away on the fence and doing her best.
"She was a really good juvenile, but had a bit of a flat three-year-old career.
"She's just taken a while to come right and hopefully she can show something good in this.
"There's a lot of good horses in it. It's probably one of the best Maori Mile fields I have seen for a while, as far as depth goes."
