IT was a Victorian romp at Globe Derby’s biggest meeting last night.
Victorian raiders won the four feature races, including a trifecta in the marquee race, the $100,000 Kevin and Kay Seymour SA Pacing Cup.
The barrier draw was always going to be important after the SA Cup heats and emerging star The Last Trip drew the best of the big guns in gate three.
Driver Taylor Ford basically locked away by far the biggest win of her career when she took the four-year-old to the front.
The Last Trip “pinched” a soft 31.1sec first quarter, then Ford put the foot down for a 28.9sec second split and scorching 54.5sec last half to win running away by 15.6m over another classy four-year-old Forty Love.
The 2024 SA Cup winner Ultimate Vinnie fought-on well for third to cement the Victorian trifecta.
Now the focus turns to whether The Last Trip’s stunning form will land him a slot in the world’s richest pacing race, the $1.5 million TAB Eureka at Menangle on November 21.
It was trainer Emma Stewart’s fifth SA Cup win and her third in the past four years. The other wins were Miki To Success (last year), Wheres The Gold (2023), Shadow Sax (2018) and Guaranteed (2015).
Earlier in the night, classy three-year-old Luvtobeuptome underlined his huge potential with a stunning win in the SA Pacing Derby.
The Courtney Slater-trained colt did plenty of early work before finding the lead and blasting away to win by 28m in a slick 1min54.7sec mile rate for 2230m.
“What a run!” a thrilled Slater said.
Luvtobeuptome’s win was the first leg of a feature double last night for the underrated driver Josh Duggan, who also teamed with the Brent Lilley-trained Maestro to win the SA Trotters’ Cup.
The other feature, the Golden Nursery 2YO final, gave Stewart another win with the SA-owned Casterton, driven by Jackie Barker.
Another popular win on the night came from the Matthew Horsnell0-trained Rockin Gemma with Hannah Lewis aboard.
The mare won the inaugural $100,000 Radiant at Port Pirie two weeks earlier.
It was a huge night for female drivers, winning seven of the 10 races. Dani Hill and Jackie Barker had doubles, while Ford, Lewis and Gaita Pullicino had a win each.
The Last Trip. PHOTO: Walter Bulyga