The Cunning Fox prevails in thrilling Galleywood Hurdle victory
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Jockey Tom Ryan says feline tendencies propelled unbeaten jumper The Cunning Fox to his biggest triumph in Wednesday's Galleywood Hurdle (3200m) at Warrnambool.
Punters expected The Cunning Fox, Affluential and Stern Idol to dominate the $150,000 feature and the three-way showdown eventuated early in the straight.
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The Cunning Fox did best in the straight, prevailing over Verry Elleegant's younger brother Affluential while Stern Idol faded in last 200m to finish fourth.
Stern Idol's connections had pre-race concerns when original jockey Steven Pateman was taken to hospital after falling from Nelson in an earlier race, forcing Ciaron Maher to engage Fergus Gregory as a late replacement.
The topliners produced a flawless jumping display despite the strong tempo set by Stern Idol to the home turn but winning rider Ryan said the last 400m was simply a battle of wills.
'That was a dogfight. There were no hiding places there,' Ryan said.
'Jesus, he answered every call.
'There's a terrier in him, a bit of dog in him, and he fought right to the line.'
The Cunning Fox won a St Leger Trial at Bendigo in his three-year-old days on the flat but Ryan said the now six-year-old's athleticism was his best attribute.
'He's such a cat jumping-wise, he's so slick and clever,' Ryan said.
'Even jumping the last, he was so quick and clever at it and got away from it.'
The Cunning Fox gave trainers Patrick and Michelle Payne their first Galleywood Hurdle win. It also completed the set of Warrnambool jumps features for Patrick Payne.
Neither sibling was on course for The Cunning Fox's victory but managing owner Joe O'Neill of Prime Syndications said the Payne polish was the difference between winning and losing.
'I started to hyperventilate coming to the last,' O'Neill said.
'I thought, 'he's there, he's there, he's there', then he the front and I knew he had the big horse (Stern Idol).
Jockey Tom Ryan said The Cunning Fox cleared the hurdles like a cat. Picture: Pat Scala/Racing Photos via Getty Images
'Then Affluential showed up and I thought, 'don't tell me he's going to get caught in the last 100m'.
'But Patrick has timed his preparation to a tee.
'He took him to Werribee last Friday for a gallop and said, 'he's spot-on'.
'He's such a great trainer and now with Michelle, they're a great team
'He's won Magic Millions for me, he's won everything. He's just a fabulous trainer.'
The Galleywood Hurdle win might be an expensive one for one of The Cunning Fox's owners, should he fulfil his promise to Ryan.
'One of our owners owns a nightclub at Noosa. He's got free grog for a month,' O'Neill said.
Ryan joked he was sure to accept the offer.
'That's like winning the lotto for an Irishman,' Ryan said.
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Dashing to Wangoom upset
The racing calendar pushed local trainer Aaron Purcell into tackling Wednesday's Listed Wangoom Handicap (1200m) at Warrnambool.
The race known as the 'Newmarket of the Bush' wasn't in Purcell's plans but he was thankful that circumstances led him to consider the race with his stable star Dashing.
'At the start of the preparation, it probably wasn't on the cards but there probably weren't any other logical start-off points,' Purcell said.
'The options for him were a bit slim but he seemed to be going better than ever.
'The closer we got to the race, we thought we'd have a go and we knew he'd be in the finish somewhere.'
Impressive recent jumpouts and a heavy shower prompted good market support for Dashing, who was as long as $34 on Monday before backing and deductions left him as a $9 chance.
Heavy rain in the half-hour before the Wangoom forced a track downgrade but jockey Tom Madden found the better ground, racing three-wide throughout the race.
Dashing proved too strong for Fortunate Kiss and SA visitor Dubai Poet.
'It was fantastic for Tom to give him a really good steer,' Purcell said.
'Fortunately, three-wide the trip wasn't necessarily a bad thing and it worked out OK.'
While scoring over 1200m first-up, Purcell said Dashing's immediate future lay in slightly longer races.
'We'll get back to a mile, I think, and I'd say we'll be looking at 1400m next time,' Purcell said.
'Today's race was probably like a 1300m race through the testing track.
'We'll get him up in trip and the Winter Championship is definitely a race we'll think about.'
Originally published as The Cunning Fox prevails in thrilling Galleywood Hurdle victory
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