 Trainer Robbie Laing showed he doesn't just have a knack of revitalising old horses over the jumps, as Sermon ran his rivals ragged in the $150,000 Listed Luxbet.com Cranbourne Cup (2025m) at Cranbourne this afternoon. Jumping to the lead from barrier two, Sermon under the guidance of Mark Pegus made sure he held the front turning out of the straight the first time as last Sunday's Benalla Cup winner Stormhill pushed forward from barrier nine. Sermon held an uncontested lead through the middle stages which approaching the 600m mark extended to at least a five length advantage. When Pegus asked for another effort from the six-year-old around the bend, he found another gear. In the run to the line, Sermon ($31-$41-$31) defeated fellow on-pace runners Stormhill ($4.80-$5.50-$5) by three and three quarter lengths with The Sportsman ($8-$10) a further half length away in third. Streetfighter ($9) narrowly edged out Zupacool ($6.50) for fourth, but they were beaten five and a half lengths from the winner. Today's triumph gave the Cranbourne-based Laing with his first win in his local Cup. "Neil Bainbridge (Cranbourne Turf Club's CEO) was good enough during the week to gallop our three runners entered here on Friday morning," Laing said. "Desert Master galloped well, Sentire galloped well and because this horse (Sermon) pulls too hard when you work him over ground like a normal stayer, young Sam Payne who's recently come to the stable galloped him over 600m and he broke 36 (seconds). "He went back in, had a walk around and a hose and then went 400m in 23 (seconds). "So it must have tighten him up nice because he got to the corner today and really sprinted," he added. Laing suggested he was always confident of victory in the run, given how Sermon was allowed to dictate terms. "He never looked like getting beat really because you know how tough he is and when he got that soft lead, I was standing with Matty Williams in the grandstand and when we were five in front on the corner he said ‘do you think it'll stop' and I said ‘no he'll keep going'," Laing said. Sermon joins the likes of On A Jeune (2004), Show Barry (2005), Blue Collar Jack (2006), Emerald Jack (2007) and Majestical (2008) as winners of the Cranbourne Cup and is no slouch given his imposing record as a three-year-old. Under the care of trainer Bob Thomsen, Sermon ran third in the Listed Ming Dynasty (1400m) and also the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes (1800m) at his next start. Departing the Thomsen stables shortly after, Sermon had five starts for Lee Freedman before changing hands once more to Robbie Laing. Laing has managed to extract four victories, which includes the Pakenham Cup (1750m) and a win at Caulfield in April earlier year, from Sermon since joining the stable 20 starts ago. The $1 million bonus for winning both the Cranbourne Cup and Caulfield Cup (2400m) is safe as Sermon is not nominated for next Saturday's Group 1 feature. In stark contrast, Sermon is currently nominated for the $130,000 GPG Moe Cup (2050m) on Thursday. Picture - Greg Irvine Related Coverage
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© 2010 Published 11/10/09
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