WODONGA has made premier Victorian trainer Darren Weir its “No.1 target” for this year’s Gold Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
General manager Tom O’Connor said last year’s Melbourne Cup-winning trainer had committed to the November 25 race as long as he had a suitable runner.
And in a boost to O’Connor’s chances of landing Weir, the Cup is now worth $110,000 in prizemoney after receiving a $20,000 boost with its VOBIS Gold status.
O’Connor said Weir’s presence at the newly-crowned country racing event of the year would be a coup.
Weir and jockey Michelle Payne combined to lead 100-1 shot Prinze of Penzance to Melbourne Cup glory last year.
“If everything lines up, he will have a runner,” he said.
“A lot’s got to happen to make sure he has a runner that’s suitable but he’s certainly given us indications that he’d like to be involved.
“He’s chipped away at just about every cup in country Victoria but he hasn’t won a Wodonga Gold Cup.
“We’d love that to be on his agenda.
“We’ve spoken to him a couple of times.
“We went down to his stables for the Melbourne Cup launch a couple of months back and again at the awards on the weekend, we were able to have a quick chat and again remind him.”
Weir, who trained 348 winners last season, will field runners at Wodonga for the first time on Monday with six runners accepting for a TAB meeting.
The Ballarat trainer had runners nominated for the Jack Maher Classic on July 31 but the meeting was abandoned due to wet weather.
O’Connor said the lift in prizemoney for the Gold Cup would prove attractive to owners and trainers throughout Victoria and NSW.
“The pleasing thing for us as far as the mile races go, even for metropolitan meetings that weekend, there’s no race that matches it for prizemoney,” he said.
“It will certainly prick the interest of both owners and trainers throughout the state and across the border because of that tag that it’s now got.”
More than 6000 people attended last year’s Gold Cup, which recently had its public holiday status extended by Wodonga councillors for two years through to 2018.