Anphina on track for Darwin Cup start after NT Derby win
It appears as though Anphina will line up in the $200,000 Darwin Cup (2050m) on August 7, having qualified after taking out the NT Derby (2050m) at Fannie Bay last Saturday.
It was back-to-back Derby wins for trainer Kerry Petrick, with Venting saluting last year before backing up 16 days later to finish seventh in the Cup.
“Providing Anphina’s still 100 per cent sound and everything is all good, we’ll be heading for the Cup,” she said.
“The final acceptances are Thursday week, so we’ll know for sure by then which way we’re going.
“No more runs before the Cup – going forward she’s exactly where she should be in her training.
“Anphina eats everything, which is a bonus with a filly, so that makes my job a lot easier.
“She’s done a fantastic job as that was her ninth run this prep on Saturday, which is extraordinary.
“I was worried after the Derby that she may have had enough, but she was incredibly bright Tuesday morning.
“She was a promising filly down south and was just a few lengths off being in the top grade.
“I think the owners will end up with a lovely horse because the experience they get out of doing a road trip like this is invaluable.”
Anphina’s victory in the Derby was a relief for Petrick, who once again teamed up with veteran NT jockey Paul Denton after the pair combined to claim honours last year with Venting.
Petrick, who is based in Darwin and Alice Springs throughout the year, and Denton, based in the Red Centre and participating in his 40th consecutive Darwin Cup Carnival, have now won 108 races together.
“108 and great mates – there’s a headline for you, it is unbelievable,” Petrick said.
Anphina, highly competitive in four feature Adelaide races for Stawell trainer Andrew Bobbin in April and May, was a first-up seventh in a BM66 (1300m) at Darwin against fellow three-year-olds on June 24 before running home impressively for third in the NT Guineas (1600m) on July 8.
“She has the miles in her legs and I thought her run in the Derby was super – she’s in terrific form,” Petrick added.
“She didn’t have a great deal of luck at a couple of stages on Saturday, but it was a gun ride by Paul.
“It looked like she was going to win by a little bit further – started star gazing, but she still got the job done and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.
“It was a serious effort by the second horse Grinzinger Bishop and you wouldn’t believe it, that horse beat Anphina when it won at Flemington as a two-year-old.
“It’s a small world, so realistically they were two quality horses in the Derby.”
Petrick confirmed that bringing Anphina, the daughter of Rebel Dane, to the Top End was a last-minute decision.
“Anphina was bought by my Grampians Racing owners and they bought her as weanling,” she said.
“She was racing in South Australia and my partner Gordon (Simmons) rang them and said they should bring her up here for the Derby as we thought she’d be a good chance.
“Instead of heading back to Stawell they went straight through to Coober Pedy and she arrived a couple of days later.
“We never thought they’d go through with it, but they did.
“The pressure was on and the best thing was that we pulled it off.
“We came here from Alice Springs and were going great guns, then we had a couple of quiet weeks.
“Winning the Derby has taken the pressure off that little bit – not every day you go back to back.
“Nothing in the Metric Mile this weekend, but looking forward to Cup weekend.
“Got a few nice lower grade ones, so we’ll just poke along and see what we can do.”
Venting returned for another NT campaign and was victorious first-up in the Red Centre over 1400m in March before winning over 1600m in his second Top End start on June 24.
Before finishing fourth in the Buntine Handicap (2050m) on Saturday, Venting had featured in four other NT starts for a second and third at Pioneer Park and a second and fifth at Fannie Bay.
“He’s probably at the end of his campaign, I think he’s just had enough,” Petrick said.
“The owners sent him to me when he was already half way through a campaign.
“He’s still only a four-year-old and an immature four-year-old, so we’ll just see what we can do with him next year.”