Passion For War – Lisa Staples. Photos: Greg Symes.
All roads lead to the Esperance Bay Turf Club on Sunday afternoon where main race of the Club’s 2024/25 season, the $100,000 Freight Lines Group Esperance Cup over 2010 metres will be run and won.
EBTC President Ken Norton said he was thrilled with the support and interest the Club was receiving for this year’s Cup day both locally and statewide for the 40th anniversary running of the Esperance Cup at the Club’s location on the banks of Bandy Creek.
“Basically everything is on track at this stage for Sunday, our tents are all set up for our racegoers to come in, we will just give the course one final trim up and get the seating, bars all ready,” Norton said
Regarded as currently one of the best racecourses in the whole of WA, current EBTC curator Ryan Weston has the track looking in brilliant condition.
“The tracks coming on really well, we’ll pump a heap of water on it between now and cup day, racegoers can expect a great day’s racing,” Norton said.
The Cup, the seventh race on the programme and scheduled to start at 5pm, will see a near capacity field of 15 greet the starter, where visiting trainers have dominated in recent editions.
North Dandalup trainer Michael Grantham will bring two live chances into the Cup, last start Pinjarra 2000-metre winner Stormageddon for leviathan owner Bob Peters and equal topweight Citino, which finished tenth to its stablemate in the same race thirteen days ago.
Brothers Clint Johnston-Porter (Stormageddon) and Zephen Johnston-Porter (Citino) will take the rides for the Grantham pair.
Clint Johnston-Porter will be looking to maintain his recent good record in the Esperance Cup riding the heavy favourite Stormageddon, as he piloted Off Wego to win the Cup in 2022.
In 2023 with the same horse he ran second by a head to the Willie Pike ridden Soviet Spy and he was also victorious aboard Manavendra in last year’s cup for Daniel and Ben Pearce.
The winner of the Mount Barker Cup held three weeks ago, Big Swoop (Ray Malpass), will also contest the Cup.
Fellow topweight and second favourite Uncompromised (Helen Harding), True Chance (Gary Burger), Wheatstack Thief (Jane Hossell) and Elite Fighter (Josh Brown) round out the local contenders for this year’s Cup.
There will be emotional scenes on course if Passion For War was to salute in the Cup as his former trainer Jeff Eeles passed away at Fiona Stanley hospital last week after suffering a heart attack.
Passion For War lead virtually all the way at 70/1 to win the $30,000 TABtouch The Road to the Cup from the same departure point from Uncompromised and Wheatstack Thief.
The clash between this season’s unbeaten sprinters Boozeroo (Josh Brown) and Hilton (Nicholas Thomas) in the $26,500 Kalgoorlie Punters & Drinkers Club Esperance Sprint at 3.55pm over 1200 metres is a highlight of the card where full fields are prevalent.
Mungo Jerry, a pick up ride for Clint Johnston-Porter, also trained by Brown is coming off a two month spell will be fancied by the punters to upset the unbeaten pair.
The first race on the card is set to get underway at 1.32pm with the KJ Norton Building Co Maiden over 1100 metres and gates open from 11am, see the Esperance Bay Turf Club’s Facebook page for more details regarding bus timetables.
Tips:
Race 1: Jet Power, Tra La La, Ultimate Paradise, I Had A Dream
Race 2: Queen Of Chaos, Sugared Up, Manganui, Flinders Lane,
Race 3: Choixway, Habib, Crunchy Nut, Jericho’s Echo
Race 4: Zebedee Springs, Sure Thing, Marybee, Aramat
Race 5: Mungo Jerry, Boozeroo, Hilton, Some Sort
Race 6: Dubai’s Daughter, Lucky Sue, Blue Can Talk, Kelly’s Li Za Lu
Race 7: Stormageddon, Uncompromised, True Chance, Elite Fighter
Race 8: West Coast Warrior, My Boy Eddy, Minor Detail, So Likable
