A monumental occasion unfolded for the Cavanough father-daughter team of Brett and Georgie when Chidiac stormed home to claim the Country Championships Final (1400m) at Royal Randwick over the weekend.
Brett Cavanough, boasting a tally exceeding 1100 training successes, was visibly moved by the occasion.
“I’ve got to try and hold it together a bit, very special today to do it with Georgie,” Cavanough said.
“She tipped Chidiac all week, she had faith in her.”
Georgie, newly partnered with her father this term, declared the mare her unwavering selection.
“She’s been my pick all along, she didn’t let us down, she’s a very classy mare,” she said.
“This is great – I couldn’t do it without Mum and Dad, it’s all just very exciting.”
From his Coffs Harbour roots, Hong Kong ace Zac Purton cherished partnering with locals for such a prestigious prize.
“I was a country boy my whole childhood, so it’s just great to team up with someone from there and win a race as important as this,” Purton said.
“She travelled really well, at no stage of the race did she give me any concerns.
“She was straight into the bridle, really happy and comfortable where she was in the going.
“Coming up the rise she was travelling so well but I thought she’s been here for a while, is she going to empty out, but she kept going all the way.”
At $5.50 in betting, Chidiac hit the front halfway down the straight and scored by a length over Graceful Ellen ($61), with Micro Mikki ($91) three-and-a-half lengths total away in third.
Cavanough’s provincial feature record grows stronger, now including the 2020 The Kosciuszko success with It’s Me.
The trainer shared his riding instructions for Purton on the mare.
“Zac just took bad luck out of the equation, he made it his race,” he said.
“I just said whatever you do, cuddle her for as long as you can and when you go for her, she is just sharp as.”
Chidiac, five-year-old daughter of Better Than Ready from initial low-grade starts at Quirindi, has six victories in 11 races and holds potential for major assignments.
“We might look at the Stradbroke Handicap in Brisbane,” Cavanough said.
Gerry Harvey races the mare, capping a highlight-filled day after John Singleton’s Blue Door won the Kindergarten Stakes.
Top-weighted Considered ($3.60) filled fifth spot, trainer Matthew Dunn believing the filly has run her race.
“I think she has come to the end of it,” Dunn said.
“She won her heat six weeks ago and it’s a long time to keep them going. But she won six straight so she has done a wonderful job.”
Follow the form from the Country Championships Final with racing betting markets available on leading betting sites.
