Kentuckiana Lodge pacer Casino Action pinned his ears back to produce a well-deserved win on Kaikoura Cup Day.
The Cran and Chrissie trained three-year-old had plenty of work to do 150m from home in race 10, but his determination and class prevailed for his big group of owners from across New Zealand and the world.
Casino Action is raced by Ron Burke, Alan Galbraith QC, Hazel van Opzeeland, John Meates and Gary Pay, along with Chrissie.
Fifth in the Group One Sires Stakes Final on New Zealand Cup Day and the winner of the Sires Stakes Silver, the pacer has taken on classy fields and smart horses in his time.
Dropping into a very winnable race on Monday, Casino Action took full advantage.
“He has run into some very good three-year-olds and gone some great races,” Cran said.
“His first up outing at Oamaru was good and he needed that run.”
“This race looked well within his range and it was great that he could get the job done, he deserved that.”
“He’s got a great bunch of owners and hopefully they have a few more rewards to come.”
The exciting part of Casino Action’s win is how much improvement the pacer has in him.
“He is a great doing horse and still has some trimming up to do.”
“He’s by Bettor’s Delight from the Me family, so he has a great constitution for racing.”
“I am expecting him to take more improvement from this run and he should be even bigger and better for his next start.”
“The plan is to head to Cup Day now to give him his shot in front of the big crowd.”
“With where his rating is, he should be pretty competitive.”
Casino Action will be a part of a big Cup Day team from Kentuckiana Lodge, headed by New Zealand Cup contender Krug.
Krug has thrived since his last start win at Addington and he will head to the Cup Trials at Addington on Wednesday.
The Dalgetys have decided to aim Republican Party at the Junior Free-For-All on Cup Day following his outstanding victory at Ashburton.
