THIS is going to be some sort of $1.5 million TAB Eureka.
Loucasso and Double Lou showed why they were the first two runners locked in for the Menangle feature on November 21 with sparkling Menangle wins last night.
The pair were dominant in their Group 1 NSW Breeders Challenge finals.
Double Lou was first to step out and made quite a statement with an easy win in the $50,000 Group 3 NSW Breeders Challenge 4YO final for entires and geldings.
He took 1.6sec of his personal best mile with a scorching 1min48sec mile.
“I’m super rapt,” trainer-driver Bailey McDonough told HRNSW’s Greg Hayes. “He ran really good time heading into the Eureka and that is just what we were after tonight.
“I wasn’t disappointed when he got beaten last week. I knew he’d take a lot from it because he was big in condition and probably still is a bit big tonight.”
Double Lou had the pole last night, but will likely draw five or wider as a four-year-old under the preferential conditions of the TAB Eureka.
“He’s not one dimensional, he doesn’t have to lead to win,” McDnough said. “But he does begin faster when he drew out a bit, so a draw like that could actually work in our favour.
“I’m not worried about the longer distance (2300m) in the Eureka, either. He’s proven before he can run it.”
McDonough said Double Lou, who will run in Tony Licastro’s “The Don” slot, won’t race again before the TAB Eureka.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll trial him, but he won’t have another race,” he said.
A tactically brilliant Seaton Grima drive helped Loucasso to his sixth win from as many starts this campaign and his 12th from 14 career runs in the $150,000 Group 1 NSW Breeders Challenge 3YO colts and geldings final.
Rather than get involved with the early burn, Grima balanced up Loucasso and then zoomed him around the field to take the lead after 500m.
Loucasso easily held off a gallant Alert Bay to win by 4.8m in a 1min48.7sec mile.
It was Grima’s biggest win and his first at Group 1 level as a trainer or driver.
He celebrated accordingly with a lavish victory salute over the last 80m of the race.
Loucasso firmed from $2.50 to $2.30 favourite for the TAB Eureka, while Double Lou’s odds were slashed from $7 to $4.50 second favourite.
Star filly Ark Sea kept her hopes of landing one of the remaining six TAB Eureka slots with a terrific win in the $150,000 Group 1 NSW Breeders Challenge final for three-year-old fillies.
It was the Sam Hewitt-trained filly’s 13th win from just 16 starts.
Ark Sea gave Will Rixon the second leg of a feature double. Earlier, Rixon drove Gunna Reload, trained by his father Peter, to win the $50,000 final for four-year-old mares.
PHOTO: Club Menangle
Double Lou 4YO Breeders Challenge presentation. Photo by Stuart McCormick