Mighty Lucky has continued to improve through recent seasons, and has been rewarded for another typically smart preparation with a strong win over talented company in the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup (1615m) at Doomben this afternoon.
Mighty Lucky returned to winning form in the Group 3 Lord Mayor’s Cup at Doomben this afternoon. Photo: Daniel Costello
Resuming this time for success in the Royal Randwick 100 (1400m), Mighty Lucky ran on for a close second in the Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup (1600m) on April 30th before placing a luckless sixth in the Listed Scone Cup (1600m) a fortnight ago.
Drawn ideally in barrier 6 this afternoon, the Casino Prince gelding jumped well and took a position on the rails within Lord Mayor’s Cup field of fifteen as Worthy Cause, Court’s Star and Akavoroun injected plenty of early tempo into the race.
Towed into the race by Akavoroun rounding onto the final straight, Mighty Lucky immediately responded when asked for an extra effort and found the lead; pulling clear to hit the line a length ahead of a fast-finishing Pajaro.
Chris O’Brien has partnered Mighty Lucky in each of his four starts this time and was thrilled to be on the horse when he returned to winning form in the Lord Mayor’s Cup this afternoon.
“He had a pretty tough run,” O’Brien said.
“We were three deep with cover, followed Brownie (Hopfgarten) and he went a bit earlier than I wanted, but Mark Zahra (Akavoroun) gave me a drag in and he did the rest.
“They had to meet him at the weight scale this time and he’s such a determined horse, he carries it so well.
“Once he gets to 2000m he’ll be even better.”
Mighty Lucky has been the stable star for Fred Cowell through his entire forty-one start career so far, and the Gosford trainer was understandably thrilled with his performance for success in the Lord Mayor’s Cup.
“He’s a good horse,” Cowell said after the race.
“As he’s getting older I think he’s getting better, and I actually don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. Once he gets over a journey we’ll see a better horse again.
“He’ll run the 2200m here next Saturday and I really think he’ll be hard to beat. The back-up won’t worry him at all, he’s the toughest horse ever.”
Mighty Lucky is expected to be included in nominations for the Group 2 Eagle Farm Cup (2200m) on Monday; to be run on Queensland Oaks Day next Saturday.
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2016 Lord Mayor’s Cup Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | MIGHTY LUCKY | Fred Cowell | Chris O’Brien | – | 6 | 59kg | $4.80F |
| 2 | 9 | PAJARO (NZ) | Peter & Paul Snowden | Blake Shinn | 0.8L | 12 | 59kg | $14 |
| 3 | 8 | MALICE | John O’Shea | James McDonald | 0.9L | 11 | 59kg | $17 |
| 4 | 7 | HOPFGARTEN | Robert Heathcote | Damian Browne | 1.7L | 5 | 59kg | $6 |
| 5 | 4 | WORTHY CAUSE | John Zielke | Luke Dittman (a) | 1.8L | 9 | 59kg | $7.50 |
| 6 | 12 | BRAVE ALI (NZ) | Tony Gollan | Ms Tegan Harrison | 2.1L | 1 | 59kg | $101 |
| 7 | 5 | ROCK STURDY | Joseph Pride | Kerrin McEvoy | 2.4L | 14 | 59kg | $11 |
| 8 | 1 | AMOVATIO | Chris Waller | Rory Hutchings (a) | 2.5L | 8 | 59kg | $6.50 |
| 9 | 3 | JUMBO PRINCE | Michael Nolan | Jim Byrne | 2.7L | 15 | 59kg | $14 |
| 10 | 11 | AKAVOROUN | Ciaron Maher | Mark Zahra | 3.5L | 4 | 59kg | $11 |
| 11 | 13 | BODEGA NEGRA | Bruce W Hill | James Orman (a) | 4.3L | 2 | 59kg | $71 |
| 12 | 10 | LORDAG | Robert Heathcote | Michael Cahill | 4.4L | 7 | 59kg | $21 |
| 13 | 2 | KOOL KOMPANY (IRE) | Chris Waller | Glen Colless | 6.7L | 3 | 59kg | $11 |
| 14 | 14 | COURT’S STAR | John Wilcock | Anthony Allen | 17.7L | 10 | 59kg | $101 |
| 15 | 15 | PEACE FORCE | Gerald Ryan | Zac Purton | 29.7L | 13 | 57kg | $21 |
