Wanganui galloper Thorn Prince gave weight and a beating to his rivals as he went two better than last year to capture the feature event on the card at Te Rapa, the Listed Woods Group Taumarunui Gold Cup (2100m).
The gallant 6-year-old son of Thorn Park has established a marvellous record with yesterday's victory his ninth from just 30 starts along with a further nine placings. That consistency has kept him at the top of the handicaps for the past two seasons, a fact that trainer Fraser Auret was more than mindful of as he prepared him to carry topweight of 59kg in the event.
"We felt a bit sorry for the horse as he hadn't won a stakes race before today so carrying a big weight like that is tough," he said after the race.
"His work had been spot on and though he missed a lead-in race he does race very well on the fresh side so we weren't concerned about that.
"He is just an incredibly consistent horse and I'm just extremely happy for him as he definitely deserves a race like this."
