Doomben 10,000 (Group 1)

THE Ciaron Maher-trained Bella Nipotina left it to the last moment to claim a second Group 1, getting the decisive stride in her favour to down the Peter Moody-trained I Wish I Win by the narrowest of margins in the A$1.5 million Doomben 10,000 over 1,200 metres in Brisbane on Saturday.

Ridden by Craig Williiams, the Pride Of Dubai mare, who has earned just short of $10 million having been purchased for $80,000 at the Inglis Melbourne Premier, blew her advantage from barrier three and had to come from near the rear of the nine-horse field.

“Thanks to my team and James Harding. She actually hasn’t been in a stable for any more than three days over the past two weeks.

“She was in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and now Brisbane,” said Maher after the race.

“She ran second in the (Group 1) TJ Smith and on Monday she jumped on a plane and went to Perth (she ran fourth in the $5 million Quokka).

“She came back and now she’s in Queensland – she’s absolutely unbelievable.

“When we jumped from the barriers, I thought we were no chance, Craig knows her really well though.

“He took his medicine. That was unbelievable.”

Map in for the Cup

FRESH off a Group 2 QE II Cup win in Adelaide over 2,500 metres, The Map, trained Dan Clarken and Oopy MacGillivray has won a ballot free entry into this year’s Melbourne Cup. Lining up in Saturday’s Listed Andrew Ramsden at Flemington over 2,800 metres, punters held the five-year-old Alpine Eagle mare as next to a good thing, sending her out as a $4 favourite.

With Jamie Kah in Queensland, Damien Lane took the ride, coming from back in the field the pair had to weave through the middle of the 15-horse field.

In clear air with 300 metres remaining, The Map, like a lot of good stayers, took a moment to wind up as the Richard Cully-trained Excelleration tried to pinch a break in the final furlong.

With her long stride into gear, The Map slowly wound in the advantage to win by a half-length ahead of the Irish-bred Harzand gelding Mostly Cloudy with the Excelebration gelding Excelleration in third. “It’s been a phenomenal couple of weeks in my life, it’s just awesome,” said Oopy MacGillivray.

“We’ve kept working her, we didn’t change a thing, she kept eating. She just gets more and more self-assured every time she comes out, she does it a bit easier. That was a superb ride. He sat in there amongst all those horses, he never got anxious and let her do her thing.

“We’ll go to the paddock now, she can have three or four weeks off and we’ll just let her chill. We’re in the Melbourne Cup, let’s get her there fit, probably with no weight penalty, so that’s the first plan.

“From being a young child, the Melbourne Cup was always a dream,” she added. “The Melbourne Cup is Australia’s greatest race and I think that is what will be really special again to have a smaller trainer and locally-bred horse, It’s important for the race.”

Joyce settling in

CURRAGHBOY-born Adrian Joyce is relishing his new role as foreman at the Cranbourne barn of Ciaron Maher Racing.

“It was a big decision, I obviously have to move my wife and my two kids over here as well,” said Joyce.

“I think there’s more opportunity over here, joining the Ciaron Maher stable was a big thing as well, what I would learn there.

“I always said to myself that I’d love to train in Australia or America at some stage.”

Having started off in show jumping as a kid, Joyce graduated from RACE to land a position with Francis Flood as a 17-year-old before moving on to Tom Taaffe who provided the jockey with his biggest winner, the 2006 Paddy Power Chase on Cane Brake.

Having trained in his own right, and been assistant to Ger O’Leary, Joyce, having joined the Maher stable in October, reflected on some of the differences he has seen.

“Work-wise, what the horses get on a daily basis would be similar, but the build-up to the data and all the expertise around it, we wouldn’t have that in Ireland,” he said.

Treadmills

“The swimming, treadmills, that’s all different, we’d have very little of that (in Ireland).

“Every day you’re just learning something new, because they’re such a big operation, there’s different horses every day, it’s amazing people to work with, Ciaron and Jack (Turnbull), the staff, you’re just learning every day.

“It’s amazing.”

Madden takes a Cup

THERE was another nice win for Tom Madden when he partnered Picaroon to win the Casterton Cup for trainer Tom Dabernig to complete a double for the rider and a treble for the Warrnambool-based trainer on the card.

“Thankful for Tom and the owners to stick with me, a good tough mare, she loved that 2000m - a good tough win. She had more speed for it that the rest,” the rider said with the six-year-old mare running on strongly in the final furlong.