The Craigmore Sustainable Holdings Timaru Cup (1600m) has been an outstanding race for Brian and Shane Anderton in recent years, and the Wingatui trainers will attempt to continue that tradition with a pair of well-credentialled runners at Phar Lap Raceway on Saturday.
The Andertons have collected three wins in the last nine years in the Timaru Cup, which was run at Listed level until 2022. The White Robe Lodge team saddled Tommy Tucker for back-to-back victories in 2015 and 2016, then struck again with Gallant Boy in 2020.
All of those three wins were supreme weight-carrying performances under either 59kg or 60kg. The Anderton contingent for this year’s race is headed by another topweight, Capo Dell Impero, whose 62kg impost has been reduced to 59kg by Ruvanesh Muniandy’s claim.
Capo Dell Impero has won eight times in his 32-start career, including an emphatic last-start victory in the Cromwell Cup (2030m) on December 1. Saturday’s race marks a step down in distance for the seven-year-old son of Ghibellines, but he has previously been a three-time winner from 10 starts over 1600m.
“He was great at Cromwell last start and we’ve been very happy with the horse since then,” Shane Anderton said. “He’s taking a bit of a step down in trip for the Timaru Cup on Saturday, which might not be ideal for him, but he’s run some good races over the mile in the past and he couldn’t be going any better.
“He always has to carry a lot of weight these days, which makes him quite hard to place down here. But we’re hoping that the claim will help him on Saturday.”
Capo Dell Impero will be joined in the field for the $80,000 feature by his stablemate Burgie, whose four-win career is headed by victories in the Gr.3 South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) and the Listed Warstep Stakes (2000m).
The Ghibellines mare has been below her best form so far in her six-year-old season, finishing outside the placings in all of her five starts. She has been served by White Robe Lodge stallion Ancient Spirit this spring. “She’s a very capable mare and has a pretty good record over the mile,” Anderton said. “There’s not a lot of suitable races around for her. She’s in foal now, so we’ll just give her a few more runs while we continue to be happy with her, and then we’ll be looking at retiring her.”
