Racing: Walsh seeks successful coup on Pitman pair

Cambridge jockey David Walsh has opted to ride at Riccarton on Saturday in preference to Wellington Cup Day at Trentham.

He made the decision after trainer Michael Pitman offered him the mounts on Coup Bloomsbury (Timaru Stakes) and Coup Callum (Dunedin Cup Trial).

Coup Bloomsbury won the open 1200m at Gore last Saturday in the hands of stable apprentice Amelia Denby.

Walsh has ridden Coup Bloomsbury in four of his 12 wins. He rode the Centaine gelding to deadheat for first with O'Cartier in the 2007 Stewards' Handicap at Riccarton before winning the open sprint on the third day of the NZ Cup meeting that year.

Coup Bloomsbury completed a hat-trick in that race last November.

Walsh won the Timaru Stakes on Jonny Alone in 1984 when the race was run under weight-for-age conditions at Washdyke, Timaru.

Walsh has also won on Coup Callum. The Daggers Drawn gelding won an open 2000m at Riccarton in November with Lisa Allpress the rider.

Allpress is riding Our Genes, So Alberta, Lagerfeld, Lady Mountford, Fellini and The Jackal for the Pitman stable at Gore tomorrow.

Allpress has also won the Stewards' and Pegasus Handicaps on Coup Align for the stable this season.

Coup Align did well for seventh on an unsuitable slow track in the Telegraph Handicap at Trentham last Saturday.

Pitman has nominated Coup Align for the KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) in Singapore on May 16. The race, for which the field is selected, was won last year by the Hong Kong-trained Sacred Kingdom.

Eel Win (Thorndon Handicap) will represent the Pitman stable at Trentham on Saturday. "He was unsuited down on the fence in the Anniversary Handicap last Saturday," Pitman said.

Paul Taylor has been engaged to ride Bruce Almighty in the Wellington Cup, with Chris Johnson, who won the Gore and Greymouth Cups in the past fortnight on the Tauranga gelding, being unable to make the 51kg weight at Trentham.

Taylor rode Bruce Almighty to win the Wairoa Cup Prelude in February.

Bruce Almighty was on the road to Blenheim yesterday with other members of the Mt Maunganui stable of Stuart Manning.

Well-performed Matamata sprinter Pinprick is headed to Wingatui for the $45,000 Eclipse Stakes on Saturday week.

Trained by Mike and Paul Moroney, the 8-year-old has numbered the 2006 Kelt Memorial (1200m) and a premier 1200m at Hastings in April among his wins.

The Pins gelding won an open 1200m fresh up at Awapuni in November. He has not raced since December 12.

Pinprick has won seven of his 38 starts, his racing being restricted by a severe infection to a hind leg midway through his 3-year-old season.

He was away from racing for 16 months from November, 2004.

"He is very good fresh and this is possibly his final campaign," Paul Moroney said.

Pinprick will travel to Wellington on Friday and on to Rangiora on Sunday.

A decision has yet to be made if he will be accompanied by 3-year-old Shuttleworth.

Gary Lightfoot will be back in the role of starter at Riccarton on Saturday. He is substituting for Stephanie Payne who broke a leg 10 days ago. Lightfoot was the starter before Clark was appointed in January, 2008.