Trainer Aaron Bain is confident he can go one better in this year’s Gawler Cup, with his new stable acquisition Dual Pressure primed to deliver a hometown triumph on Friday.
Bain, who operates from Angaston Park in the Barossa Valley alongside training partner Ned Taylor, came agonisingly close to victory last year when Midnight Mass surged late to finish a narrow second behind Bamyan Buddha. This time, he has two runners aimed squarely at the local feature, a race he says holds deep personal meaning.
“It’s a race that eluded us last year so it’s no secret that we want to win it this year and make it a race that we feature in strongly every year, being our hometown Cup,” Bain said. “It’s not a Group 1 by any means, but it’s close to it in an emotional sense and there is great attachment to us to be able to win it. There is a lot of depth to it and it’s going to take a very good horse to win the race and there will be some hard luck stories.”
Bain purchased Dual Pressure for $220,000 via Inglis Digital last December. Previously trained by Mathew Ellerton, the son of Denman made an immediate impact in South Australia, winning first-up over 1200m before scoring again over 1400m last start.
Now stepping to 1500m, Bain believes the gelding has the stamina to progress further and eventually tackle races such as the Balaklava Cup and Murray Bridge Cup next season. “It’s no secret that we paid good money for him and, as a sound five-year-old now, he’s a horse that we see being able to run in these are the sort of races for two or three seasons,” he said. “We missed the Balaklava Cup and Murray Bridge Cup but Gawler looks the perfect race for him. He was having his first run over 1400m at Murray Bridge on Cup Day and he handled that so he moves to the 1500m at Gawler on Friday and if he can win or be very competitive, it sets him up for those (mile) races next year that we want to be a part of. He’s drawn a beautiful gate so we might land outside Air Assault or even in front, there are a few different speed maps.”
Bain’s quest for Gawler Cup glory highlights the strong form of his stable this spring, with his team looking well-placed to continue its success across South Australia’s country features.
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