Purpose Driven claims Stayer's Cup
Purpose Driven for trainer Cameron Butcher took a successful step forward into the staying ranks with a strong performance in last night's Stayer’s Cup at Angle Park.
The daughter of Bekim Bale and Alana Blues came from midfield in the run to storm home claiming her rivals in the shadows of the post. She ran a handy 43.63 for the 731m journey in defeating Caprice Monelli for Tony Rasmussen and Pure Presence for Lauren Harris, in one of the most competitive Stayer’s Cup finals in recent history. Purpose Driven now looks on target for the State series of the National Distance Championships to be run at Angle Park on Thursday 3rd August.
It was a big night for Cameron Butcher with his star sprinter On Fire making it 10 wins in a row when he defeated a small but elite field of sprinters in devastating fashion. He came from last early to round up his rivals and go on to win by 3 lengths in a blistering 29.67 with a run home of 12.52. He is also on target for the Sprint division of the National finals. However, what might have been the highlight of the night for the Butcher’s was the return to the race track of superstar sprinter Worm Burner in the heats of the Group 1 Brisbane Winter Cup at Albion Park. After recovering from a severe injury he resumed with a solid third and got around safely which all goes well for the future. It looks like he will also now be headed for the National Championships however due to domiciliary clauses he may be representing Victoria in the series which will disappoint many of his loyal SA fans.
Another huge highlight on the night happened prior to the meeting when YouTube star Randy Santel took on the Big Burger Food Challenge at McQueens Tavern.
He set a new record easily accounting for the previous best and will continue around Australia setting new records for eating food however it was great to see him on-course after and be on the presentation dais to congratulate Paul Fagan and Prancer Dancer for taking out race 11, a race named in Randy’s honour.
