Timaru gelding proves too smooth in Invercargill Gold Cup

A $50,000 carrot is dangling in front of the connections of Timaru gelding Smooth Operator (NZ) (Turn Me Loose) following his victory in the Olphert Contracting Ltd Invercargill Gold Cup (2600m) at Ascot Park on Saturday.

It was the second leg of the Southern Cups Bonus Series, where a $50,000 winner-takes-all bonus is up for grabs, and Smooth Operator now sits atop the standings, alongside Gore Cup (2200m) winner In Vegas, on five points.

The stakes performer jumped a $2.90 favourite from the ace barrier in Saturday’s contest and was given a rail-hugging ride by jockey Tina Comignaghi for the majority of the journey.

He looked blocked in when searching for a run from the 600m, but Comignaghi eventually found a gap at the top of the straight and Smooth Operator quickly took it, bounding up alongside leader Caffeinated before dashing away to a 6-1/4 length victory, much to the delight of his large group of supporters.

Smooth Operator ran third in the race last year and trainer Stephanie Faulkner was delighted to go two better in this year’s edition.

“I was a little bit worried, there wasn’t a lot of pace on,” Faulkner said. “He was pulling a bit but Tina was patient as ever, gave him a beautiful trip and he was dragged into it at the right time and showed them what he can do.”

With the victory, Smooth Operator brought his career tally to seven wins and six placings from 42 starts, with more than $232,000 in earnings.

Bred by Go Bloodstock Australia Pty Ltd, Smooth Operator was initially purchased out of KB Bloodstock’s 2021 New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale draft by Shaune Ritchie for $32,000, and he had four starts for the Cambridge trainer before heading south to Stephanie Faulkner, who has enjoyed a fruitful last three years with the gelding, and she is hoping to add to it in the coming months.

The Southern Cups Series marches on to Wingatui next week with the Listed Dunedin Gold Cup (2400m), which Smooth Operator finished runner-up in last year, before it heads to Gore a fortnight later for the Wyndham Cup (2000m), and culminates at Riverton on April 4, where double points are up for grabs in the series final – the Riverton Cup (2147m).

“We will press onto the final at Riverton,” Faulkner said. “It’s really exciting.”