By Adam Hamilton
Auckland Cup winner Republican Party is heading home after his fantastic third in the Hunter Cup.
But compatriots Tact McLeod and Don't Stop Dreaming will stay in Victoria to clash with Leap To Fame again in next Saturday night’s $100,000 Group 2 Cranbourne Cup.
Trainer Cran Dalgety also planned to tackle Cranbourne, but admitted Republican Party “certainly felt” his brave and close-up third to Swayzee and Leap To Fame in record smashing time.
“It’s really the first time in his career he’s pulled-up a bit shagged, as though he really knew he had a run,” he said.
“He’s come a long way in the past six months or so and we’ll focus on getting him primed for the Race by Betcha now.”
Republican Party charged home from three pegs to a head and half-neck behind the two best pacers in this part of the world.
“Carter felt he could’ve gotten even closer, but hey I say a close third in a Hunter Cup behind those two is a win in itself and should be celebrated,” Dalgety said.
“He’s always been five or 10 per cent below the big guns, but showed he’d improved and was up with the best Kiwis and now he’s run that well, albeit after being on the marker pegs, behind the best in Australasia.”
Longer term, Dalgety said a return to Australia for the enhanced Brisbane Inter Dominion in July was a strong possibility.
“It’s an attractive option now it’s in July, down to just two rounds of heats and the prize money has gone up,” he said.
“It’s something we’ll look a lot more seriously at after the Cambridge race.”