KEY POINTS:
A year-long plot to win today's Wellington Cup with Tinseltown has gone perfectly so far, says the Pentire gelding's co-trainer Paul Moroney.
Tinseltown, a 5-year-old, won the Summer Cup on Wellington Cup day last year and that set in motion the desire by Moroney and his fellow owners
to claim the big race.
They were helped along the way by the Wellington Racing Club's decision to reduce the distance of the race to 2400m, as Moroney now thinks 3200m at Trentham would be too tough for Tinseltown.
"The 2400m is about his pet trip, if he is ever going to get 3200m it will be at Ellerslie and if he wins this he might be having a go at the Auckland Cup, but we will get through this one first and hopefully come up with the major prize."
One of the reasons for aiming for the Wellington Cup is that most of Paul Moroney's fellow owners are from the Wellington area.
He races the horse with Graeme Duff, John Myers, Ian McCarrison, Mike Gatt, Ron Rosenberg and Gary Williams. All but Rosenberg were shareholders in the Moroney top-liner Xcellent, dual NZ Horse of the Year.
And Moroney says he selected Tinseltown to buy because he looked a miniature version of Xcellent as a yearling.
Willy Smith will carry Foxton trainer David Haworth's hopes for a Cup win following the scratching of The Foreman.
The Foreman strained a tendon on Thursday and will be out of racing for up to three months.
But Haworth still has Willy Smith, the fourth favourite at $8.
Willy Smith won the Cup two years ago when trained by Olympian equestrian Mark Todd.
Haworth said he had been leaning towards The Foreman, who was better placed at the weights, as the better of the pair, before discovering the injury.
"I can't believe it," he said. "He was that well and I really thought he would be hard to beat. His work had been wonderful and his weight was perfect."
Willy Smith impressed with a great run for second behind Gallions Reach in the weight-for-age Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day but was a well beaten fourth in the Trentham Stakes last Saturday.
But Haworth was not disappointed. "He needed the run and is looking for more ground now."
Haworth has retired Three Chimneys after the 8-year-old was unplaced in the Cup Trial on Monday. He had seven wins and 15 placings in 41 starts, earning $300,000.
- NZPA