Former Victorian trained galloper Zahspeed completed a 2018 Darwin Cup Carnival feature race double for leading trainer Gary Clarke when he took out the $200,00 Carlton Mid Darwin Cup (2000m) at Fannie Bay on Monday.
Zahspeed, above, was the winner of the 2018 Darwin Cup at Fannie Bay. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Two days earlier Clarke had saddled up the stable’s star sprinter Captain Punch for a seven and a quarter lengths win in the $135,000 Palmerston Sprint (1200m) on the black sand at Fannie Bay.
Zahspeed had been the pre-race favourite for the Darwin Cup in the week leading up to the race following his five lengths trouncing of the opposition in the $60,000 Chief Minster’s Cup (1600m) at Fannie Bay on July 14 but a flood of money for the Michael Hickmott trained Lieder saw the Clarke trained seven year old relegated to the $4.40 second pick in the market order.
Lieder was sent out as the $3.40 favourite but was two and a half lengths behind Zahspeed in second spot when the judge called a halt to proceedings.
Zahspeed also made it two Darwin Cup wins for Clarke who won the 2015 version with Lightinthenite.
Clarke is the leading trainer in the Top End while Darwin Cup winning jockey Brendon Davis was also aboard Captain Punch for his Palmerston Spring runaway win.
Captain Punch has been a great money spinner for the Clarke stable and his win last Saturday was his fourth from his last five starts at Darwin.
2018 Darwin Cup Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | ZAHSPEED | Gary Clarke | Brendon Davis | – | 2 | 60.5kg | $4.40 |
| 2 | 7 | LIEDER | Michael Hickmott | Jamie Kah | 2.5L | 4 | 54kg | $3.40F |
| 3 | 10 | SENIOR COUNCIL | John Peacock | Raymond Vigar | 6.8L | 1 | 54kg | $17 |
| 4 | 2 | ROYAL REQUEST | Neil Dyer | Jarrod Todd | 7.3L | 8 | 59.5kg | $9 |
| 5 | 4 | FOLK TALES (NZ) | Richard Laming | Jason Lyon | 9.3L | 5 | 55.5kg | $11 |
| 6 | 11 | LOTION | Angela Forster | Stan Tsaikos | 9.6L | 6 | 54kg | $91 |
| 7 | 8 | PRETTY BLONDE | Philip Cole | Justin Potter | 10.8L | 12 | 54kg | $81 |
| 8 | 12 | TURF MAN | John Hickmott | Dom Tourneur | 11L | 9 | 54kg | $4 |
| 9 | 6 | NEUSCHWANSTEIN | Sherrie Lawlor | Ms Felicia Bergstrand | 12L | 11 | 55kg | $91 |
| 10 | 3 | KIFAAH | Gary Clarke | Richie Oakford | 15.5L | 3 | 56kg | $21 |
| 11 | 5 | LAKE JACKSON | Angela Forster | Carl Spry | 25.3L | 7 | 55kg | $71 |
| 12 | 9 | SATURDAY SORCERER | Jason Manning | Ms Vanessa Arnott | 125L | 10 | 54kg | $31 |
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