Sydney 2YO survives Sunshine Coast protest
Immature two-year-old Winning Rupert had to survive some tense moments before confirming his rating as a winter carnival stakes horse at the Sunshine Coast.
Winning Rupert blew from $2.80 to $4 before beating Dreams Aplenty ($6) by three quaters of a length on Saturday.
The Warwick Farm-trained colt looked set to win easily until he ducked in sharply in the final 200m and jockey Jeff Lloyd had to straighten him.
Luke Dittman, who rode Dreams Aplenty, protested on the grounds Winning Rupert had taken his running and cost him the winning margin.
However, Lloyd said he straightened Winning Rupert when he ducked in and could have won by a bigger margin.
Stewards agreed.
Jean Van Overmeire, who represented trainer Bjorn Baker, said Winning Rupert was immature and would be improved greatly by the run.
“He can do a few things wrong but he is very promising. We are going back to Sydney on Monday and then Bjorn will plan the rest of his campaign,” Van Overmeire said.