Busselton Cup Glory for Awaitinginstructions
Awaitinginstructions taking out the 2022 Busselton Cup. Photo Credit- Carol Lewsey from Craicpot Photography
Well, that’s a wrap on another season at Busselton, with Friday night’s meeting rounding out the five-meetings on offer at Churchill Park.
There were plenty of thrills on offer this season and thankfully no spills, but Friday night’s meeting saw the final of the Sweetheart series as well as the main feature of the season, the 2022 B.F.S Busselton Cup.
Matt Scott went into the meeting confident that his runner Awaitinginstructions could get the job done in the cup, and at $3.10, punters also shared that confidence. After stepping away cleanly from the 10m handicap, he was tightened on the first turn and contacted a marker peg, resulting in the five-year-old galloping and losing the best part of 30 or so metres. After settling at the back of the field over the 2680m staying trip, Mitchell Miller put Awaitinginstructions three wide 500m from home and before they had even reached the final bend down the back, he had hit the front, going on to win by 30.2m in 2:05:5.
“I could see things getting tight and I thought ‘oh no, this isn’t a part of the plan.’ When he gallops, he doesn’t know what to do and it took him a while to get back down but then the field slowed up and he pretty quickly got back in touch,”
“Mitchell (Miller) showed a very cool head, he didn’t panic and let him relax and slide along at the back of the pack.”
“There has been a lot of honest conversations over the last 12 months, but we have ridden the wave and emerged with a fantastic win in a Busso Cup, it is 100% fill credit to Matt and the stable foreman Kyle Anderson that this little horse is back racing,”
“The farrier, Steve Routledge, deserves a lot of credit.” Owner Tim Blee said.
It was an emotional win for both trainer Matt Scott and owner Tim Blee, with Awaitinginstructions being plagued with foot troubles, and with just a handful of starts in the last 12 months, it has been a constant battle to keep the horse sound and happy in his work, but after Friday night’s effort, it appears they may have won the war.
When asked what was going through his head when the gelding galloped on the first turn, Matt Scott replied “I was just so disappointed for Tim. Horse has had a million feet troubles. It’s been a rough 24 months, it’s the only time I’ve cried after a win,”
“I have won 80 races with Matt, but I have never seen him so emotional as he was after the Cup,”
“This wonderful horse has taken him on some ride, and I am sure it means as much to him as it does to me.” Tim Blee said.
Minor Catastrophe taking out the final Sweetheart series race and the series for driver Dean Miller. Photo Credit- Carol Lewsley from Craicpot Photography.
Going into the meeting, Minor Catastrophe and Kione Kaviar were both sitting on 235 points each, but the David Young runner Minor Catastrophe came out on top after taking out the Esplanade Hotel Sweetheart Series for the fillies and mares. With $2000 on offer from the club for the winning mare, Young walked away with the $2000 trophy, as well as a further $1000 from WASBA (Western Australian Standardbred Breeders Association) and $500 towards her EPONA Westbred mares credit scheme.
“About four months ago I decided for her confidence that if she didn’t win a three-year-old race, I would take her there (Busselton),”
“She’s a good pacer so I was confident she would handle the track and the stand,”
“Being a typical three-year-old filly, I thought she was an Oaks filly, but she got sick at the beginning of the prep and I never got her back.”
There was plenty of family banter between David and his mum Karen Young, after Karen took out the series last year with her handy mare Jill Mach who went on to win five races last season.
“She tried to remind me she was undefeated last season, but I reminded her she only won four Sweetheart races just like I did, as her first win was a normal race last year, so technically she cheated.” Young joked.
Minor Catastrophe started as the $2.60 favourite off the 30m handicap over the 2030m trip, and after settling in the one-one position throughout, Dean Miller pulled her out at the top of the straight to win by a half head on the line. The now four-year-old had five starts at Busselton for four wins and unplaced once for Miller and Young combined.
Ashleigh Paikos