Left: Cranbourne trainer Colin Alderson celebrated the final day of the Flemington spring carnival with the win of his talented gelding Cargo Cult in the last race on Saturday.By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE trainers Bevan Laming and Colin Alderson flew the local flag with winners in the last two races of the four-day Flemington Melbourne Cup carnival on Saturday.
Alderson’s talented gelding Cargo Cult closed the carnival on a positive note with a slashing 400-metre finishing burst to come from the back of the field and over-run the tiring leaders in the $100,000 Emirates Welter over 1400 metres.
That win followed the upset victory of Laming’s mare Sutology in the Group 2 Hilton International Stakes over 2000 metres and provided the two locally-based mentors with Cranbourne’s only success in the 38 races contested over the week.
Alderson said he thought Cargo Cult would perform well over the spring carnival and its return of two wins, two seconds and an unlucky fifth since the start of its campaign in September proved that prediction correct.
Starting at $6.50 equal favourite, Cargo Cult downed another Cranbourne horse in Robbie Laing’s Botero.
Laming, who divides his time between his Cranbourne and Queensland training bases, was thrilled with Sutology’s run and praised the timing of Matt Pumpa’s ride after the race.
It was Pumpa’s first Group race victory in Melbourne with the race worth $250,000.
Other highlights of Emirates stakes day were wins to Berwick’s Victoria Derby winning jockey Noel Callow on Our Smoking Joe in the Group 2 Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Cranbourne hoop Craig Williams who booted home Nadeem in the second Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate.
