Bendigo Pacing Cup nominations - Make Mine Cullen heads the list

10 January 2012 - Saturday night’s $50,000 PETstock Bendigo Pacing Cup shapes as the most even in modern times. Nominations for the Group Two feature were released yesterday and while the Cup lacks a genuine superstar it will be a good betting race. Star Bendigo mare Make Mine Cullen, Horsham Cup placegetter Decorated Jasper, the Lance Justice-trained Our Malabar, 2009 Bendigo Cup-winner Sammy Maguire and the David Miles-trained Villagem head the nominations. Bendigo Harness Racing Club general manager David Aldred expects the Cup field to stand up well when acceptances are taken this morning. “From the trainers I’ve spoken to, all the better class horses in the nominations will run in Bendigo,’’ Aldred said. “It should be a great race. Make Mine Cullen is going well, Our Malabar is a good horse, Villagem has been better at his past two starts and Decorated Jasper is probably the most in-form horse out of the lot of them. “It would have been nice to have a Smoken Up or Melpark Major in the field, but we still have a very competitive race. “It will be a great night of harness racing.” The Glenn Douglas-trained Make Mine Cullen will be trying to be the first central Victorian-trained horse to win the Bendigo Cup since Robric Jonboy in 2004. She has history against her, with the last mare to win the Bendigo Cup being the Bruce Morgan-trained Mother Courage in 2002. Make Mine Cullen, who finished a luckless ninth in last year’s Bendigo Cup, has won three of her past four starts, including a dominant victory in the Group Three George Johnson Pace in Hobart on New Year’s Day. Some good luck at this morning’s barrier draw will probably see Make Mine Cullen start favourite in pre-post Cup markets ahead of Decorated Jasper. Saturday night’s other feature event – the Maori Mile – has attracted a classy group of trotters. Rejuvenated Sedgwick trotter Will Trapper will be the horse to beat. The John Noonan-trained trotter has won two of his past three starts in superb fashion. His biggest danger will be I Didn’t Do It who is coming off a win in the Group One Australian Trotting Grand Prix. “The Maori Mile should be a great race,’’ Aldred said. “Most of these trotters will use the Maori Mile as a lead-up to the Inter-Dominion heats.” - Adam Bourke (Bendigo Advertiser)
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